Beautiful Night
by Shiro Ryuu
Summary: [FINISHED] [AU] Bakura is the leader of his gang 'Darkness' for a simple reason... he's the scariest. But what happens when his sweet, innocent brother comes to live with him...? RB, YYM, KY, JM
1. Darkness

**Disclaimer**: Let's see, is Yu-gi-oh full of yaoi pairings? No? Not mine, then.

**A/N**: Wow, this one's a little different for me. Gangs? I can just see my friends' faces, and they look like, 'HUH?' But oh well :) One must obey the muse, that one must. Let's see... In case you're having trouble deciphering the couples there, they are thus: Ryou/Bakura, Yami/Malik, Jou/Mai, Kaiba/Yuugi - oh, and there's some bits of Malik/Marik too, just ta warn ya. And the main things that make this AU... One, Bakura is the leader of a gang called 'Darkness,' the name being inspired by one of my fave lines of his, 'Don't you realize that I _am _the darkness?' Also in the gang are Yami, Malik, Kaiba, Jou and Mai. Um... All the yami/hikari group things are siblings (i.e.: Yuugi is Yami's lil bro). And finally, Kaiba isn't rich (nervous grin) (hides from furious Kaiba) But there's a very good reason for this, I swear! I just can't tell you yet! (hides from furious readers) Eh, I think that about covers it; let's start the fic, shall we?

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**Chapter One**: Darkness

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Bakura threw back his head and laughed as the flames licked the sky.

It was the deep, satisfied laugh of someone basking in the glory of a job well done. The plan had been sheer brilliance, really. First, they had found the window to the back room where the data from the security cameras of the gas station's store was fed. He had killed the guard, then Kaiba, the gang's technical expert, had shut everything down. They didn't want to take any chances, after all. Then they had killed the two people in the front of the store and grabbed everything the six of them could carry. And finally, they set fire to the place.

He supposed they should get out of there, before someone drove by and saw them. So he revved up engine of his motorcycle and drove away

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Jounichi sprawled out across one of the elderly chairs of the gang's - they called themselves Darkness - hideout, and raise a beer can in a toast. "Awesome night!"

Mai rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Jou, are you that immature? It was boring, is what it was. Bakura, you need to find us some better jobs."

He grinned toothily at her. "Oh, I know how we could make some extra cash! You could become a prostitute; what do you think of that?" She threw an empty beer can at his head, but he just ducked.

Yami shook his head. "I agree with Mai," he said firmly. "We killed too many people for this little money. And what, exactly, was the point of setting the store on fire afterwards?"

Kaiba, leaning against a wall a little away from the rest of them, scoffed. "What's the matter, Yami? Having a conscience attack again?"

"Leave him alone." This remark came from Malik, the only member of the gang who hadn't spoken up yet. "I do agree with you, but I'd have to say that your constant ego-tripping and bothering the rest of us has lost its charm."

Kaiba scowled, taking a step toward him, but Bakura slid neatly between them. "That's enough," he declared, feeling too laid back because of the success and the booze to give them a proper reprimand. "Come on, everyone; let's get home. After that there'll probably be more cops out than usual, so watch yourselves."

Kaiba shot one last parting glare in Malik's direction, before heading home. He was going to an abandoned house on the bad side of town where he and his little brother Mokuba had been living since they had come to this town. Mai would soon leave for the mansion she lived in; her parents were hardly ever in the country because of the traveling involved in their high-paying jobs, so she could get away with practically everything. She gave the gang as much money as she could find excuses to get. Yami probably had the best home of all of them; he lived with his little brother Yuugi and their grandpa in their grandpa's game shop. After he left, Malik reluctantly tore himself away. He lived with his big brother Marik, and they didn't exactly have the best relationship. Finally, Bakura left; he lived with his dad, who had long since given up on trying to censor his activities. Jou told him that he would be spending the night at their hangout again; he lived with his dad too, but they didn't really get along that well. So Bakura locked up after himself before hopping on his motorcycle and riding home.

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"Yo!" Bakura called, carelessly dropping his jacket on a chair as he walked in. "Anybody up?" It was the strangest thing; usually his dad would be in bed by now, but the lights were on.

In response to his call, someone walked out of the kitchen. He froze.

It was a girl, and a pretty hot one at that. Maybe a little too sweet-looking to be his type, but still... She wore a baggy blue sweater and white jeans that exactly matched her long, snowy hair. He did a double-take. Wait a minute; this girl looked almost exactly like him!

When she saw him, she gasped and bowed. "Konnichiwa, nii-san!" she said hurriedly.

He gaped at her. Eh... eh heh... "NANI!" She jumped, but he barely noticed. His mind was spinning. If she called him that, then she must be... Shit, she must be a he! "Ryou! What the fuck are you doing here?"

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**A/N**: Shortest. Chapter. Ever. Y'know, it's really more like a prologue, isn't it? I was thinking of making it longer, but I just couldn't resist that ending :3 Don't worry; Bakura's question will be answered next chappy. He thought Ryou was a girl; I got such a kick out of writing that... Meh. So, yeah, they're brothers, but I'm gonna hook them up anyway. Why, you ask? Because I'm twisted! What did you expect? Well, if it makes you feel any better, the next chapter will be much cooler (I already have it written up). It's almost three times this long, and has a bizarre mix of serious and funny stuff. Yes, I have it all written up, so why don't I just post it, you ask? Because I'm evil! What did you expect? Wait a week or so... (evil cackle) Review onegai?


	2. Balance

**Disclaimer**: I. Am. Not. Kazuki. Takahashi. Get it right!

**A/N**: EDIT! RUN FOR THE HILLS! lol... But, yes, I hate having to mulitate my story T.T And this chapter was actually kinda good, unlike the last one! Argh... But, yes, you can either tourture yourself by reading this version, or you can go over to my bio and find the link to the uneditted version on Media Miner - it's entierly your choice, of course ;) The links are pretty near the bottom, under '**Attention**', fyi.

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**Chapter Two**: Balance

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Bakura zipped up his jacket with fingers shaking just slightly from nervousness. Well, the time had come. There was no putting it off any longer. He opened his bedroom door with the utmost care so that it wouldn't squeak.

His mission: get out of the house without attracting the attention of his sis - brother.

He made it down the hall all right; whew. But now he was presented with a worse challenge. The stairs. He eyed them suspiciously. They couldn't have normal stairs, oh no, where only certain steps creaked. These ones changed depending on the weather.

He cautiously put his foot on the first one. And... it creaked.

Another door in the hallway opened. "Where're you going, Bakura?"

He could feel his left eye twitch. He seemed to be developing chronic eye twitch, now that his girly brother was living with them, and he had only been here a week. "Out," he said simply, starting down the stairs two at a time.

Ryou frowned disapprovingly at him. "You're going to hang out with those shady friends of yours, aren't you?" he demanded, folding his arms across his chest. Bakura turned to look at him; in his baggy brown sweater and blue jeans, he decided that the position only made him look dorkier than usual.

"So what if I am?"

Ryou 'hmph'ed at him. "I don't like them. Especially not that Malik creep you keep talking about. You should stop hanging out with them; I think they've been a bad influence."

Bakura couldn't help it; he had to laugh. "But that's where you're wrong, imoto," he smirked. "I am the one who has been a bad influence on them. See ya later."

Ryou stomped. If Bakura hadn't been in such a hurry to get out of there, he probably would have fallen over laughing. "Don't call me little sister! All right, that's it. Just for that, I'm coming with you!"

It was a good thing he'd finally managed to reach the bottom of the stairs. Because this time, Bakura really did fall over laughing. "And that would be bad... how?" he managed to choke out, absolutely sure that he wasn't serious.

His sibling glared. Well, it was a pretty good attempt, anyway. "Because I would embarrass you."

That made him stop laughing. Hmm... Was this kid smarter than he thought? Bakura shrugged it off. "You have me there. But you wouldn't."

"Would too." Ryou started down the stairs.

Bakura's eyes widened. "Hey, what're you - hey! Okay, I'll give you a candy bar, how about that? Ow!"

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Needless to say, Ryou did indeed come. He even rode on the motorcycle. Of course, he had his arms wrapped around Bakura's waist so tight that he thought he was going to crash, but he was too pissed off to comment.

It was a good thing they hadn't been planning to meet up at their hideout, Bakura reflected. If Ryou found out about that, he'd never hear the end of it. Actually, they had been planning to meet up at the most Ryou-friendly house of all, Yami's.

He screeched to a stop in the game shop's parking lot and counted bikes. Shit; thanks to arguing with Ryou, he was the last one here.

As they got off, Ryou laughed nervously. "What's with all the motorcycles, nii-san?" he asked. "You guys aren't some kind of motorcycle gang, are you?"

He shrugged. "More or less. And don't call me nii-san."

Ryou's mouth fell open. "What! Does father know?"

He shrugged again. "Most likely, yeah. Has anybody ever told you that you're clingy?" And, with that, he pushed open the game shop door.

The cheerful little bell that let Mr. Mouto know a customer had come in rang. Bakura frowned at it. This place may be Ryou-friendly, but it made him twitch. Ryou made him twitch too. Hmm... Cheerful things made him twitch.

Mr. Mouto poked his head around a shelf. "Oh, hello Bakura! And... who is this?"

Bakura scowled. "My twin," he said, in a tone that could peel paint.

Ryou beamed.

Mr. Mouto blinked, then nodded. "Well, okay then. Everybody's waiting upstairs; have fun!" Bakura just rolled his eyes.

Everybody looked up as he came in. Jou was the first to break the silence. "Okay, either I need glasses, or there's somethin' really weird in these cookies. Who the hell is that?"

Bakura heaved a long-suffering sigh. "My twin, Ryou. Sorry, I couldn't stop him; I tried my best. Ryou, meet Mai, Jou, Kaiba, Yami, Yami's little brother Yuugi, and..." He smirked. "...Malik."

Ryou smiled nervously; the way Malik was playing with that knife disturbed him. "Um, hi everyone."

Malik snickered. "Now there's a mental image I'll never loose... He looks like you, except all girly... I never knew you had a twin, Bakura."

Bakura grabbed three cookies, and seated himself none too gracefully on a chair. Then he grinned nastily at Ryou. "Whoops, looks like you'll have to take the floor. Shame." Ryou frowned, but sat down anyway. Finally, Bakura turned his attention to Malik. "Yeah, well, I haven't seen him in years. Those years have not been kind to him, I might add. See, when my mom and dad split, mom took him back off to Britain with her. Turns out she bit the dust last week, so he got shipped back here again. Now I'm stuck with him..." His voice trailed off.

Reason being, Ryou had stood up again. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Don't be so disrespectful! She was your mother too!" And he ran out of the room.

There was an uncomfortable silence. "That was kind of mean, Bakura," Yuugi said quietly. Bakura snorted, though he was in fact feeling a bit guilty.

Yami, from where he sat with an arm wrapped around his little brother, nodded sagely. "He's right, you know. Your mother just died a week ago, and now he has to adjust to a new home, a whole new country. You should go apologize to him."

Bakura glared at him, and looked to the others for support. Jou and Mai were both frowning at him, Malik was avoiding eye contact by concentrating fully on his knife, and even Kaiba looked disapproving. Bakura winced; he'd forgotten, almost all these people had siblings. And most of them had good relationships with them... Irritably, he stalked off in search of his brother.

Once he was gone, Malik sighed. "I hate fights like this," he complained.

Kaiba arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me? You collect pieces of people you've killed as a hobby, but you hate fights like this?"

Yami glared at him, as if to say that he didn't know what he was talking about. "Shut up, Kaiba."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at him. "Sorry, but I don't listen to people who publicly cling to their little brothers like that."

Yuugi went red, but Yami just jeered. "Jealous, Kaiba?"

While Mai and Jou were busy holding Kaiba back, Malik shook his head and retreated to the window so he was out of the way.

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Bakura didn't have much trouble finding Ryou. He had hidden in the game shop's bathroom and was sitting on the toilet seat, crying. Bakura couldn't actually see that he was sitting on the toilet seat, though, because he had locked the door. Mr. Mouto sensed a drama in the near future, and tactfully removed himself to the other side of the game shop.

"Ryou, open the door," Bakura tried.

"No!"

He winced. "Please?" 'Argh...'

"No."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair and making even messier than before. "What do you want? What did I say to get you this pissed, anyway?"

He heard what sounded like a choked sob. "Everything's just so - so horrible! This town is horrible, our school is horrible, your friends are horrible, and you're horrible! You're always so mean... Do you pick on everyone this much? I just want to go home..."

Bakura found himself at a loss for words. Did he really hate it here that much? He didn't think it was that bad... And was he really being that hard on him? Maybe, come to think of it. He was just such a weak, puny little shrimp, and something about him made him want to toughen him up somehow. It was almost like he was worried that, once he got out into the real world, he'd be chewed to pieces... Okay, no, no going there. Emotional goo, bad. Focus. What would he feel like if his dad died? What would he want someone to say to him? ...Actually, he probably wouldn't care. It wasn't that he didn't get along well with his dad or anything; he just didn't really interact with him that much. The gang was more of a family to him than his dad was. So he said the only thing he could think of, despite the fact that it made he feel like barfing.

"I'm sorry."

There was silence from the bathroom. Then, so quietly that he almost missed it, Ryou said, "You don't mean that. You're just saying that so I'll stop crying... like a little girl..."

He shook his head. "It's the best I have to offer, I'm afraid."

After a moment, the door opened a crack. "You do mean it, then?"

Bakura grinned toothily at him. "Huh. With your eyes all red and puffy, you look even more like a girl than usual." Then he clasped Ryou's shoulder awkwardly. "Of course I mean it, stupid."

Ryou blinked at him as he walked back upstairs. He was... so hard to figure out, wasn't he?

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Malik winced, fumbling with the keys. It was dark - everybody had left Yami's place around dusk - and he was having trouble finding his house key. And it didn't help that his hands were shaking.

He dreaded coming home, dreaded it more than practically anything. But if he didn't, he knew that things would be much worse for him than if he did...

There he was. Marik, his older brother, sitting on the couch watching TV and sporting his usual crazily-spiked hair. Malik gulped. He seemed very absorbed in the show he was watching; maybe he could sneak upstairs. Maybe tonight...

No such luck. Marik looked over his shoulder at him, utterly unsurprised; he had known he was there the whole time. "Kill anyone today, little brother? No? No big loss, I would say. What's the fun in killing someone, when you can torture them instead? Oh well; it's an acquired taste, I suppose... This is a good show; come on, watch it with me."

Malik's blood ran cold. His mind screamed for him to run out the door and never come back, but his body was carrying him over to the couch. He compromised by sitting as far away from his brother as possible.

Marik smirked. "Oh, what's the matter? You don't have to sit way over there..." He grabbed his arm bruisingly tight, and pulled him so close that he was practically sitting his lap. Malik went completely rigid. Then Marik switch the TV off with the remote, and started trailing kisses down his neck.

Malik gasped. "W-what are you doing?" he asked weakly.

Marik chuckled, causing a sickeningly pleasant feeling to shoot down his spine. "Change of plans, little brother. The show wasn't that interesting after all, so I thought we'd try something new..." With his spare hand, he felt Malik's chest greedily through his shirt.

Malik clenched his fingers so tightly that he might have drawn blood. This wasn't happening; this was... insane! He was his brother! "W-what the hell has gotten into you!" he demanded, trying his best to get out of his grasp.

Marik shook his head, smirking again. "I thought you'd learned by now that it isn't as bad when you don't struggle..." That said, he shoved Malik down onto the couch and kissed him so hard that it hurt.

When he pulled away, Malik looked like he was about to cry. "Please... don't do this..." he whispered.

Marik snickered, tracing the outline of his jaw with a finger tip. "Tell me, little brother, has anyone you've killed ever looked at you like this just before you did it? Did you ever think of stopping?" Then he kissed him again before he had a chance to reply...

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_Malik looked so beautiful and broken, he reflected, all covered in sweat and bruises and blood. "Well, that was... satisfying," he commented, playing with a lock of the other's hair. "I'll see you later, little brother." Malik watched him, though he didn't really see, as he walked out the door._

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**A/N**: O.O Wow... (huggles Malik) Poor Malik-chan! (sniffles) Did you know that 'bruisingly' isn't actually a word? At least not according to Microsoft Word. I was shocked. Anyway... This was a freakish chapter, huh? It started out all funny, then it got bad... (cries) Poor Ma-a-alik-chan! He hem... Okay, I think I'm better now. Don't worry, next chapter Yami will make Malik feel all better... Hey, not like that; get your minds out of the gutter! Well, at least not right away... (cackles) And in other news, now that I've reached chapter two, I think I've finally figured out where I'm going with this fic! (cheers) Review onegai?


	3. Vengeance

**Disclaimer**: Meh. Bugger off. Oh, fine; I don't own it. Happy now?

**A/N**: And the insanity continues! Is anyone actually still reading this, or did the evil edit scare everybody off? Or at least get everybody to start reading the Media Miner version? (shrug) Oh well, I'll keep posting anyway! Beware - this chapter contains **character death!** Though, rest assured, I don't think this character has many fans...

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**Chapter Three**: Vengeance

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Bakura groaned. "Is Malik ever going to get his ass over here?"

It was the next day, Monday, and they had all met up at Yami's house again after school. They had decided that, until Bakura could get Ryou to stop following him around, they were just going to have to meet up there. The whole gang was there, now, except Malik; he hadn't been at school either.

A little while ago, they had called his place to see if he was sick of something. They had gotten Malik's creepy brother, Marik, who said that he was out, and he'd tell him they called when he came back. He hung up on them before they could ask where he was.

Now Yami spoke up in answer. "You know, I think Marik was lying." Bakura raised an eyebrow. "I'm worried that something might have happened to Malik... I think we should go check on him."

Kaiba snorted. "Oh please; don't make me laugh. Malik is a one-man army. Do you have any idea how many knives he generally has on his person at any time? I've lost count. He can take care of himself."

Mai nodded. "For once, I actually agree with Kaiba. Who knows what he might be doing?"

Bakura shook his head. "And for once, I actually agree with Yami. You two don't know what you're talking about. He never told you why he joined the gang in the first place, did he?" They stared blankly at him. "I didn't think so. He'd already been here a while when you two joined."

Yami frowned at him. "Are you sure we should really tell them this, Bakura? It is rather private."

Bakura shuddered. "I think I'm coming down with something. I've agreed with you _twice _today."

Jou stood up, grinning rather creepily and shaking his fist. "Who cares! I say we go check up on him, and maybe give Marik a piece of our minds! I never did like that jerk."

Mai sweatdropped. "Yeah, because he practically made you pee your pants the first time you met him..."

While both Yuugi and Ryou were trying to hold Jou back, Kaiba shrugged. "Fine. I guess it's three against two, so let's get it over with."

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Half an hour later, the group parked their bikes outside a rather shabby-looking apartment building. It had taken them that long because they had gotten lost once; the only one who actually knew where Malik lived was Yami, and he had only been there once, a long time ago.

"It's pretty awful-looking, isn't it?" Ryou whispered, wrapping himself around Bakura's arm nervously.

Bakura twitched. They had convinced Yuugi to stay home, but had had no such luck with Ryou. Since the incident in the game shop bathroom yesterday, Ryou had been following Bakura around everywhere he went; he was convinced that he must have slipped and said something nice by accident.

"Stop being so girly," he grumbled, but allowed him to keep clinging to his arm.

"I think this is the one," Yami said a few minutes later, as the group came to a halt outside on of the apartments. He knocked, and they were greeted with a cheerful, 'fuck off!' He rolled his eyes; yup, that was Marik, all right. Thankfully, when he tried to door, it was unlocked.

The apartment was dim, messy, and rank. Yami wrinkled his nose as they walked in; it smelled like booze, blood, and something he couldn't quite put a finger on... Damn it, if that was Malik's blood, he swore he would...

Just then, Marik's unmistakably spiky head stuck around the corner of the kitchen doorway. He raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Oh, dear. I told you to fuck off, but perhaps that was too strong? After all, I see there are two ladies in your midst."

Bakura snarled. No one insulted Ryou except him! But before he could speak up, Yami beat him to it.

"We're Malik's friends," he said curtly. "Do you have any idea where he is?"

He tilted his head to the side, smirking. "That slut? No. He came home last night, then I went out, and when I came back, he was gone. Now shoo; you annoy me." With that, he disappeared back into the kitchen.

Yami frowned, and went after him; the others followed. Marik was seated at the kitchen table, eating some very undercooked steak. "I think you know more than you're letting on," Yami declared.

Marik snorted. "What do you think I did, anyway? I wouldn't kill him; I can't cook. See?" He gestured at the still-bloody slab of meat. Ryou felt slightly ill.

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Marik..."

He chuckled. "Why are you so worried about him, anyway? Surely you can find plenty of people just as psychotic for your gang. Oh, wait... Does he turn you on or something?"

Yami snapped. So fast that he didn't have time to react, Yami grabbed Marik by the front of his shirt and slammed him onto the table. "That's enough!"

"Hit a sore spot, did I?" he sneered.

Abruptly, Yami pulled out a knife and pressed it to the other's throat. Ryou's grip on Bakura's arm had become numbingly tight, and even the others were a bit surprised. Yami was generally considered to be one of the nicer members of the group; this was a side of him they weren't used to seeing. "Stop fucking around and tell me what you know!"

Marik eyed the knife, and chuckled. "How impatient you are. Very well, have it your way. Malik got beat up. He stopped by here briefly but I guess he couldn't take care of his own wounds, because like I said I went out, and when I came back he was gone. You might check the nearest hospital."

For one last tense moment, Yami just stared at him. Then, slowly, he put the knife away. Then he punched Marik hard in the cheek. "That was for being an ass," he spat. Then he strode out the door. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Once they were all gone, Marik rubbed his cheek and sneered. "What idiots..."

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The search didn't take them too long. Kaiba knew his was around this part of town because it was close to where he lived, so they were able to find the nearest hospital easily.

As soon as they got there, Yami rushed over to the reception desk. "We're looking for a Malik Ishtar; do you have any patients by that name?"

The nurse there raised an eyebrow, but pulled up a list on her computer. "Yes we do. Friends of his?" He nodded hurriedly. She gave them the room number, and they hurried off.

It didn't look good. Malik was sleeping; his face was covered in bruises, and there were red marks around his wrists. It was the doctor taking care of him, though, that dropped the real bombshell. He told them that Malik had been raped.

In the stunned silence that followed, he continued. "He called 911 last evening; by the time we arrived at his house, he had fainted from blood loss. He's stable now, though, and should be waking up any time."

So they waited. They had probably been there about half an hour when he began to regain consciousness. Once his eyes were open, he just stared blankly at them all.

Yami was the first one to speak up. "Who did this to you?" he asked quietly.

Malik blinked slowly, as if it was just now coming back to him, then he looked away. "Marik."

There was another moment of silence. Jou made a strange choking noise. "But - but he's your brother!"

Mai groaned. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's awful, Malik; we're so sorry!" He just stared blankly at the wall.

It was just then that they noticed Yami had stood up. "You okay?" Bakura asked.

"I'll be back," was all he said.

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They stayed there another half an hour or so. None of them really wanted to leave, but Malik didn't seem too interested in talking. It was Ryou who finally broke the uneasy quiet.

"Is everybody still awake?"

Mai raised an eyebrow, and pointed at Jou. He was most defiantly asleep; he was propped up against her shoulder and was drooling. Ryou sweatdropped.

Just then, the door opened. They looked up, expecting the doctor, but it was Yami. "Where'd you go?" Bakura demanded. "You could have at least told us what you were doing before you left, you know."

He shrugged. "Sorry. I killed Marik."

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**A/N**: Oh yeah! I'm getting good at these endings, huh? (sweatdrop) It was a pretty short chapter though... About half the length of the last one O.o Alas, poor Marik! 'Artichoke head,' to quote Jou... XD I loved that line! Y'know, Jou is really good at coming up with nicknames for people. My all-time favorite is 'Weevil Underpants.' ...Yeah, I'm easily amused; so what? And isn't Yami such a sweetheart? Nothing says 'romantic' like a vengeful murder! Eh heh... Half a 3 Musketeers bar and a bag of peanut M&Ms will do this to me. Review onegai?


	4. Memories

**Disclaimer**: I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement, that's all.

**A/N**: Hmm, what's going to happen in this chapter? I have no idea! When in doubt, I think I'll opt for mush. Enjoy!

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**Chapter Four**: Memories

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The next day they all met up at the hospital. Everyone except Kaiba, that is.

"Where's Kaiba-san?" Yuugi asked, voicing what they were all wondering. This time they had brought him along because he had been so worried.

Jou shrugged. "Who knows? He doesn't always show; he's just like that. But more importantly, who cares? C'mon, let's check on Malik. I hope he doesn't want all those cookies you brought, Yami..."

But Yuugi persisted. "Was Kaiba-san at school today?"

Mai shook her head. "Kaiba doesn't go to school, remember?"

"Oh, yeah..." Yuugi said thoughtfully.

When they walked in the door, Malik was already awake. He managed a thin smile. "Hi, everyone," he said dully.

After various greetings were exchanged, Yami sat the basket of cookies down on the bed. "Here you go," he muttered.

Malik frowned at him. "Would you like these, Jou? I'm not hungry."

Contrary to the law of physics, even Jou noticed the tense air in the room. But at least he took the cookies. Yami chose a chair in the corner and proceed to avoid all eye contact.

Malik had been like this all of their last visit, and apparently he wasn't going to forgive Yami anytime soon...

At least this visit, he talked to people more. Besides from Yami, of course. He told them a little about the hospital, i.e., complained about the food, and they gave him that day's homework. Not that he, or any of them, would probably do it, but it was the thought that counted.

It wasn't until they were all standing up to leave that they noticed a very important fact. Yuugi had disappeared.

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By the time they noticed that he was gone, Yuugi was staring up at the abandoned house that Kaiba and his little brother lived in. He gulped; it looked pretty scary.

Since Yami had been in Bakura's gang for so long - he, Bakura and Malik had been the first members - Yuugi knew practically everything about it that his older brother did. And now he was putting that information to good use; he had to find out what had happened to Kaiba. After what had happened to Malik, he supposed he was paranoid.

Hesitantly, not really sure what else to do, he went up and knocked on the front door.

It was silent for a few moments; Yuugi was starting to worry that he wasn't home and something really had happened to him. Then the door flew open.

This had dramatic results. It revealed Kaiba, a cigarette in his mouth and a gun in his hand. At the sight of the gun, Yuugi squeaked and fell on his butt (despite the fact that it had been aimed a couple feet above his head). Kaiba took one look at him and dropped both the gun and the cigarette in shock.

He blinked once, twice, and snapped. "Yuugi! What the fuck are you doing here; don't you know that it's dangerous!" With that, he grabbed his gun with one hand and the back of Yuugi's shirt with the other, and dragged him inside.

He took him into the living room, such as it was, where he immediately lit another cigarette. "I didn't know you smoked," Yuugi said, maybe just a touch nervously.

"Only when I'm desperate," he said wryly. "Why the hell are you here?"

He shifted his weight uncomfortably. Now that he was there, it suddenly seemed very stupid. "Well, you didn't come to the hospital today, and I, well, I..." He winced.

Kaiba shrugged. "I'm fine," he said simply. It scared the living crap out of him; he had been expecting to be yelled at. "Nice of you to wonder, but even if I wasn't fine, I wouldn't need any help. I guess I have to walk you back now, huh?"

Yuugi shook his head hurriedly. "No, I know the way." But Kaiba got up anyway, and started walking to the door. Yuugi frowned at the box of cigarettes on the little table in the room, then went after him.

"Kaiba-san? What did you mean, 'only when you're desperate'?"

He froze, then chuckled, not bothering to look back at him. "Who knows? I'm drunk."

Yuugi's frown deepened. "No you're not. There aren't any beer cans out there."

This time, Kaiba did look back, and he looked irritated. It wasn't often that someone could out-smart him; despite not being able to go to school like the rest of them, he was probably the most intelligent member of the gang. "Look, kid," he snapped, "it's none of your business. Now let's get going, okay?" He started for the door again.

"This has to do with what happened to Malik, doesn't it?"

Kaiba stopped again, his knuckles going white on the door knob. "Why the hell do you care, anyway?" he said tensely.

Yuugi examined his shoes. "Because... you're my friend, Kaiba. None of us really knows anything about you, you know, and we all worry about you. Even me. Probably even Jou." He chuckled uncertainly.

Kaiba sighed, and let go of the door knob. "Fine. I'm having some problems right now, and yeah, it does have to do with what happened to Malik. But it's no big deal. I just needed a little time to think about some stuff... _alone._ Happy now?"

Yuugi was quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful. Then he said, "Kaiba, why do you live in this shack, anyway?"

He sweatdropped. Where, pray tell, had that come from? "Oh, no, now; you're not going to be getting me to tell you my life's story. Don't even think about it."

Yuugi pouted. He was the undisputed champion of pouting, and he knew it, and Kaiba didn't even know enough to look away. "Pleeease? It's not like you have to tell me everything; I just really want to know _something _about you."

Kaiba hesitated, then cracked. "Fine! I ran away. _Anything else_?"

He had meant is sarcastically, but Yuugi nodded eagerly. "Why don't you get a job? You're really smart; I'll bet you could get a good one if you looked!"

He sweatdropped, then shrugged. "Most places insist on seeing a diploma. Anyway, I don't really want one."

Yuugi stared hard at him for a moment, considering his next question. "And... why did you run away?"

Kaiba suddenly scowled. "Dammit, why am I even talking to you?" He yanked the door open. "Can we just go already?"

Yuugi looked at the floor again. He'd over-stepped, and now he might not ever get another chance... "Sorry," he said bitterly. "I was just trying to help, but I guess I forgot - you don't need anybody's help, right?" He pushed past Kaiba and out the door.

Then he choked, as Kaiba grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back in. "Hey, don't get all pissy at me," he snapped, avoiding his eyes. "I just don't like talking about my problems, okay?"

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "I've noticed," he said, a little dryly, but he was touched. For Kaiba, that was about as close to an apology as anyone ever got. "Y'know, everybody should tell their problems to someone," he added. "Relieves stress."

Kaiba scoffed, momentarily back to his old self. "That's what killing people is for." Then he hesitated again. "Seriously, why are you so concerned about me? The others don't tend to be quite this persistent."

He beamed. "Maybe I'm just not as hard-assed as them?" Kaiba just had to laugh at that one; he found it highly amusing to wonder what Yami would do if he heard his brother talking like this. "Hey, can I stay for a little while? We can talk and... stuff..."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess. But talking better not include badgering me for my life's story, and stuff absolutely will not include you smoking any of my cigarettes."

Yuugi sniggered as they walked back to the living room. "I never thought of you as the sort of person who'd tell kids not to smoke."

"Yeah, it's a foul habit. Anyway, if you want some, you can steal your own. Clear off a chair."

Yuugi did so, and sat down. "So... what should we do?"

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For the next hour or so, they talked about casual stuff. How long they thought Malik would take to forgive Yami for killing his brother, conditions around the neighborhood, how Mokuba was doing; just random, casual stuff. He had never thought Kaiba would be easy to talk to... But Yuugi, naturally, had a plan.

While they were talking, he casually suggested that a beer or two might make Kaiba feel better. After firmly telling him that he was not to drink any, Kaiba got one. And two... and three... Naturally, it wasn't too long before he was nicely drunk.

Finally, Yuugi decided that he was at just the right spot between sane and passing out. "So... you never did tell me why you ran away..." he tried cautiously.

He choked on some beer. "Ug... You aren't still going on about that, are you?"

He hesitated. Had he let him get drunk enough? It was Kaiba, after all... "Yes?"

He moaned. "Man, you're pretty persistent for such a short little kid..." Yuugi scowled, but wisely kept his mouth shut. "Nnn... Okay, okay! I guess you're never gonna leave me alone if I don't tell you, huh?" He held his breath, and Kaiba continued. "Have you ever heard of Kaiba Corp.? They make war weapons?"

Yuugi's eyes widened. "Yeah, I think I've heard of them... Their president, Gozaburo Kaiba, committed suicide about eight years ago; I remember hearing about that. The company hasn't been able to recover... You aren't his son or something, are you?"

Kaiba scoffed, laying down on the couch. Yuugi briefly flashed to a psychiatrist and his patient. "Adopted, yeah. Bastard."

Hmm... He thought this was starting to make sense. "Did you run away when he died?"

The look on Kaiba's face was indecipherable. It was as if he was seeing something that wasn't there. "Yeah, I did. But you want to know a secret? He didn't jump out that window. I pushed him."

For a moment, Yuugi couldn't think of anything to say. He knew Kaiba had killed people before; after all, he was in a gang, and that was what gangs did. But his own adoptive father? "Why?" he whispered.

Kaiba took another long drink, and shuddered as if it tasted foul. "Oh, please. I know I'm smart, but I didn't think there was this much of a gap between our, our intelligence things. This has to do with what happened to Malik, right? Use your brain."

Yuugi gasped as it hit him. "Oh God... I'm sorry, Kaiba; I shouldn't have made you talk about that..."

He shrugged. "Settle down. 'S no big deal. Y'know, I could be president of Kaiba Corp. if I wanted to be? There used to be this clause-type thing that said only a member of the Kaiba family could be president... That's why that bastard adopted me; his son had died or something. But anyway, yeah, they had to change it after I ran away, but they said that if a Kaiba family member ever showed up he'd be the president. Hmm..." He took a deep breath. "...I think I'm going to be sick."

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It was getting late; Yuugi figured he had probably been at Kaiba's house for about two hours. He knew he should leave before it got dark, but he just wanted to stay a few more minutes to make sure Kaiba would be all right.

Apparently talking about his adoptive father had gotten to him more than he had let on, though of course he blamed it on too much beer. He had indeed been sick; it had woken Mokuba up - he had apparently been sleeping upstairs the whole time for lack of anything better to do. Yuugi had had to assure him that everything would be okay, before rushing off to take care of Kaiba. Once the brunette was feeling better, the first thing he did was demand that Yuugi not tell anyone what he had told him. Then, after worrying about whether Yuugi would be okay going home by himself, he finally agreed to lay down.

Now Yuugi was watching him sleep. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep; it was even stranger than the way he got all talkative when he was drunk... What had happened to him was so awful, he reflected. No wonder what was happening to Malik had freaked him out. It was really weird to think about that sort of thing happening to Kaiba, though. He was always so cold and in control... But then, Gozaburo Kaiba had died about eight years ago. Kaiba must have been ten at most when he killed him.

Yuugi frowned a little. All of the sudden, he could understand why Yami had killed Marik. If Gozaburo weren't already dead...

Hold _on_. Why did he care more about Kaiba, exactly?

He supposed, in a way, Kaiba was less scary... Malik did, after all, collect pieces of dead people. There was just something about Kaiba that gave his the feeling that he was really a nice person underneath everything. He was so protective of Mokuba, for instance. He felt like he didn't really know Kaiba at all, and that bothered him no end... Why, he wasn't quite sure...

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the front door. Yuugi practically jumped out of his skin. Who in the world? What should he do? Should he wake Kaiba up?

Then he head someone shout, "Yuugi! Kaiba, you ass, is Yuugi here?" He sweatdropped, and decided he probably shouldn't wake Kaiba up, after all.

A few moments later, he opened the door just as Jou was in the middle of a threat to break it down. Apparently, the whole gang had come looking for him. "It's unlocked; you know that, right?" he deadpanned.

Yami pushed his way in front of Jou. "Yuugi! Have you been here the whole time!" He nodded meekly, suddenly rather scared of his brother. Yami spazzing was a very frightening sight indeed. "Why! It's dangerous around here!"

He blushed. "I was worried about Kaiba, okay? You don't need to baby me so much, you know."

Jou shook his fist at nothing in particular. "That Kaiba! He should have walked you right back home!"

Yuugi felt a headache coming on. "You know, just because I'm shorter than you doesn't mean I'm all that younger," he pointed out. "And for your information, I talked Kaiba into letting me stay. And you better leave him alone; he's sleeping right now."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "It's a little early to be going to bed, isn't it?"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Oh, please don't tell me he got drunk..."

Yuugi twitched. 'Good going Bakura; now Yami's going to have a hissy fit...' "Yes?"

In the end, they had to drag Yami away. Yuugi sighed softly; well, it looked like it was going to be a while before he could get back to trying to figure Kaiba out...

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**A/N**: Well, I guess it wasn't too mushy... Sue me :) Argh, no, don't! Eh... But hey, if I'd given him two more minutes, I'm sure Yuugi would have kissed Kaiba; does that help? No? Bwuhahaha... Eep! (hides from rabid, disappointed readers) Review onegai-i-i-i-i?


	5. Jewelry

**Disclaimer**: Hey, guess what? JessicaKittyDemon has all my best CDs! Argh! It's terrible! I've sunk to a whole new low; I'm listening to old tapes I recorded off the radio back in '01. There's actually some really good songs on them, but... Oh, disclaimer? Feh! ...Fine, Yu-gi-oh is Kazuki Takahashi's; happy now?

**A/N**: 'And I miss you/Like the deserts miss the rain...' Oro? XD O, crossing fandoms; it makes my head hurt. Ah! I have 'Meet Virginia' by Train on THREE of these tapes! I must have really liked that song... (sweatdrop) Hey, I'm in CD deprival; did you expect me to _not _get weird? Well, I'll probably have them back by the time I get around to posting this, but then again I wouldn't count on it. She's had them for weeks. I left one of those folder things of them at her house last time I was over and haven't been able to get them back yet T.T This is worse than the time when I lost some of my Yu-gi-oh cards in her couch...

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**Chapter Five**: Jewelry

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The next day, Malik could leave the hospital. He wasn't completely better, but he had to leave as soon as possible. "I don't know where I'm going to get the money to pay off the hospital bills," he explained. They had gone to the game shop for the time being, until they could figure out what to do with him, though first they had stopped by the apartment to pick up some of his things. "I'm not even going to be able to pay the rent; I'm too young to get a job and nothing we steal is really enough."

Mai shrugged. "That's no big deal. Why don't you stay at my house? I can probably get money for your hospital bills too, from my parents. I'll just tell them I want to buy a car, and-"

"No way," Bakura interrupted. "We're supposed to save that for emergencies, remember?"

She arched an eyebrow. "So what would you call this, exactly?"

He scowled, choosing to ignore that remark. "You know that if we use them too often they'll get suspicious, right? We can do this by ourselves. I'm thinking a jewelry store."

Abruptly, she stood up, glaring. "Oh, I get it. This is your ego talking. You want to prove to yourself that you can do this by yourself; if this was your own brother we were talking about, would you be willing to take any risks?" And she stalked off.

There was a moment of silence. Finally, Bakura couldn't take it anymore. He burst out laughing. "What's her problem?" he asked incredulously.

Jou frowned at him. "This isn't funny, man," he grumbled, and ran out after Mai. Bakura blinked, and shrugged.

Yami shook his head. "For once, _I_ somehow agree with _you_," he said. "I don't think we should lie to Mai's parents any more than we have to. We can get the money for Malik's hospital bills ourselves, and Malik can stay here. I don't think jii-san will mind another mouth to feed; he makes plenty of money from the shop."

Bakura smirked. "Finally, someone who sees sense. You're the last one I would have expected, Yami, but oh well."

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Jou didn't have much trouble finding Mai. She was leaning against the back wall of the game shop, lighting up a cigarette. He frowned.

"You know that's bad for you, right?" he said.

She jumped, cigarette dropping to the ground. "Jou! You startled me."

He smiled a little, leaning against the wall next to her. "Gomen ne. And sorry that Bakura can be such a jerk sometimes, too. But what was that back there? I've hardly ever seen you so pissed."

She grimaced. "Oh, I don't know... I really blew up, huh?"

He sighed, smile fading. "Please?"

"Huh?"

"Please tell me what's the matter. I know something's gotta be on your mind for you to go off like that. You're my best friend, and I wanna help you if I can."

She blinked, startled. Best friend? Sure, they hung out a lot, but she had always thought that Jou considered Yami and his little brother to be his best friends. That felt... nice. "Well, I don't know. I guess I worry... about you." She blushed, and looked away. Shit, this was embarrassing. She wasn't exactly the type that let herself get mushy that often. "I know there's a lot of bad stuff going on in you life, and all this sort of makes me worry that... I don't know."

When she finally got the courage to look at him again, she found that he was blushing too. "Eh, you don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine... Thank you, though. Hey, you wanna, um, come back inside? They're probably worried about us."

She made a face, though she really felt much better. "I don't know... Being in the same building as Bakura when he's mad at you doesn't really appeal."

He rolled his eyes. "Nah, I don't think he's mad. The weirdo was laughing when I left. The worst he'll probably do is make fun of you."

She scoffed. "Oh, like that's much better." But she went back in anyway.

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It took a fair amount of planning. First, they had to find a good jewelry store. Then they had to figure out exactly how they were going to get a good diamond ring or three without all winding up in jail. From then on it was simple; they just needed to get some fake diamonds, and figure out who would do the rather 'unpleasant' part of the job.

"Well, I'm out," Mai said smugly. "It's great to be a woman..." The others grumbled, but they couldn't disagree.

"Same goes for me," Yami said. "With my hair, I don't exactly look like the marrying type..."

"We could just shave it off and let you grow it back its natural color," Bakura commented. "I'll bet it's brown and straight or something boring like that." Kaiba growled, but kept his mouth shut.

"This is its natural color," Yami said stiffly.

Bakura stared, but decided that it wasn't worth it. "Well, I should certainly hope that _I_ don't come across as the marrying type. Same goes for Kaiba, and he doesn't even need bizarre hair to do it. Jou?"

Jou gaped. "W-what, me? No way! I look poor, anyway; I can't do it."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Then who can? C'mon, we'll dress you up, you'll be fine."

"And," he added, "I'm not all that good a slight-of-hand. That's -you're- specialty, actually..."

While Malik giggled - he was automatically out because of his injuries - Bakura blanched. "Um, good point, you can't do slight-of-hand. Kaiba can, though!"

"Me?" Kaiba sneered nastily. "But I must look pretty poor too. Brown, straight, boring hair and all that..."

"But I'll bet you touch up real nice!" he tried desperately.

"I... I could do it."

Everybody turned to stare. "Ryou? Bakura demanded. "Okay, maybe you're not quite clear on this. You may hang out with us all the time, but that doesn't mean you're part of the gang, any more than Yuugi is. And anyway, if Jou isn't good at slight-of-hand, what makes you think you can do it? Because if you're going to steal the shop's most expensive ring from right under the jeweler's nose, you need to be a pro."

He winced, but continued on determinedly. "I could learn! You need someone who looks like the type who would be interested in buying a wedding ring, and Jou doesn't want to do it."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Hey, maybe you could learn, but not nearly fast enough. Just thinking about that is funny. Okay, Jou, you're doing this. No ifs, ands, or-"

"But-!"

"-buts. Mai can buy you a suit; that's just petty cash to her, right? You're not that bad at slight-of-hand; practice. The rest of us-"

"Bakura!" Said gang leader gaped at Ryou, who was currently looking scarier than he had ever seen him. "Why do you always just brush me off like that? I'm not completely worthless, you know! If you won't let me do the main part, at least let me help a little. I may not be a part of this gang, but you're all still my friends and I want to help!"

Bakura sweatdropped, looking around. Shit, after that they would slaughter him if he didn't agree. He sighed. "Fine, fine! Geez... You can help the rest of us. But I'm still going to have to show you some tricks... Just don't screw this up, okay?"

Ryou smiled happily.

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Finally, the day arrived; they were all ready. The robbery at the gas station had paid off; they used the same trick they had used there. Kaiba climbed through the window of the back room where the security camera data went, and after knocking out the guard he disabled them.

Awkwardly, he climbed back out; going in and out windows wasn't exactly easy for him since he was the tallest member of the group. "You kill him?" Bakura said cheerfully.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Unlike some people, I am not obsessed with killing," he said dryly. "I knocked him out and tied him up."

Bakura sighed. "Your loss. Well, let's go!"

A few minutes later, the jeweler looked up and Jou walked through the front door. He tried to hide his discomfort in the suit and tie Mai had bought for him. "Um, hi," he said nervously. "I'm here to buy a wedding ring."

Just outside the store, Kaiba groaned. "Would you look at that amateur puppy?" he demanded. "Please tell me he did not just say 'um.'"

"Sorry, but someone once told me that lying is bad," Bakura said, grinning. "Let's go in at one minute intervals, and remember, if anything goes wrong then try not to act suspicious. I don't want you all getting caught."

"Aw, how sweet of you," Mai said sarcastically.

He glowered, and checked his watch. "Hmm, looks like it's your turn..."

Soon, they were all in. The owner must be surprised, Ryou reflected vaguely. Considering the fact that they were the only ones in the store, this must be a lot of business for him. His mind was mostly occupied, however, with his job.

Jou's job was to gradually ask to see more and more expensive rings, until he asked to see the most expensive ring in the shop. They had already found out what this was, and had made a fake ring that looked exactly like it. Jou would exchange this for the real one. Meanwhile, the rest of them, including Ryou, were to go around the store and do the same with pre-chosen other rings on display.

At first, he was nervous. Bakura had shown him some simple tricks, but he was still worried that the store keeper would catch him. But it wasn't actually hard at all. As long as he kept behind the man, there was no way he would see. It was a piece of cake...

Then, he dropped a ring.

"Hey, what you're-" the jeweler started, turning around, and then his eyes narrowed. Ryou had dropped both the real ring and the fake one. He grabbed them and hurriedly hid them behind his back, before realizing it was too late.

"He heh?" He swallowed, and held one of the rings out. "I, um, dropped this; sorry..."

The man scowled. "You thief, show me your other hand!" He took a step forward, at which point Jou promptly bonked him on the head.

"Okay, everybody out!" Bakura snapped, then turned to look at his brother. "Good going, Ryou," he hissed. "Now he'll remember what you look like!" He stalked over and snatched the rings out of his hands. "Idiot!"

He winced. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

He scoffed. "Oh, that helps, so much. Really. Damn... Jou, grab that ring and let's get out of here."

"Nobody move!"

The three remaining thieves in the store looked up, startled. It was the guard from the back room, and he was pointing a gun at them.

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**A/N**: Bwuhahaha! Bad, clumsy Ryou! ...Did it suck? I think it sucked, personally. You have to understand, I have zero experience at writing this kind of thing. I don't even usually watch movies about this kind of thing. Ocean's Eleven, Blues Brothers (which is really more about destroying cars than stealing things anyway), and... That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. See? Oh well, the next chapter will be funner... more fun... something like that... Things heat up a little between Ryou and Bakura; yay! (hu-u-uge grin) (cough-more-or-less-lying-cough) R&R?


	6. Reunion

**Important notice! (tears of joy) This is now offically my most popular story! (sparkle) Well, not on this site, actually, but between all the sites I post on... It has 65 reviews! Hmm... Is it sad that that's the most reviews I've ever got on any story, ever? (evil, greedygrin) Yes, I think so. So, please remember to review! But in the meantime... I'm going to undertake the rather ambitious task of thanking everyone who's reviewed on this site :) Thank you...**

**Joya Verde, M15t4k5n, Rapturous Voice (x 3), Bakura, Tinkeu, RoninsOath (x 5, yay, all chapters, happy dance), Eric Awasaki, Miyosuke (x 5, yay again), Eternal SailorM, BlackPanther17, AirbenderSora (x 4), Andyouthinkimcrazy, yamijenny (x 2), NubianQueen413 (x 2), YamiShiningFriendship, silverwolf aka vash (x 2), amyrose300 (x 3), Taikai no za Kokoro, Lady Samurai (x 3), Mana-the-Authoress (x 2), Ikana Sesako, kagome-princess, Aaron and Phoenix, Yuka Kitsune, and Darkloverfan!**

**(pant, pant)Whew, that took a while... Domo aritagto a zillion times over; ya'll rock! Now, on to your regularly sceduled  
program...**

**Disclaimer**: Of all the things, 'Perfect Day' by Elton John is stuck in my head O.o Anybody remember that one? I didn't either, but Jessica still has my CDs, so... What? Oh, you want a what-cha-mi-callit? Fine, Yu-gi-oh ain't mine, and neither is the song 'Perfect Day' -.-

**A/N**: Yup, I'm weird :) Wow, I said things were going to heat up between Ryou and Bakura, but this chapter really wound up focusing more on Mai and Jou... You yaoi fans were warned; that's all I have to say. (nervous grin) But don't worry; there will still be a highly suspicious Ryou/Bakura moment; blame Jou for it only being highly suspicious! (cackle) And anyway, the next chapter will be entirely Ryou and Bakura, I promise (grin, grin)

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**Chapter Six**: Reunion

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"I said to him, I said, 'you should kill him.' But did he listen? No..."

Jou sighed, rolling on to his stomach so he could look down from the top bunk of the jail cell's bed. "Bakura, that's not what you said. You've said that's what you said about a million times now, but what you really said was, 'Did you kill him? No? Your loss; come on, let's go!'"

Bakura scowled up at him from where he sat on the floor in the corner. "Oh, shut up."

Ryou sighed. He was laying on his back on the bottom of the three bunks. "Can't you both drop it?" he asked a little timidly. "You're only making it worse..."

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "You're one to talk," he said icily. "If it weren't for you, it wouldn't be bad at all!"

Jou moaned. "Leave the kid alone! He screwed up, we're in jail, so what? It's over and done with, and you getting all pissy at him isn't going to change anything."

Bakura growled dangerously. "Who died and made you the boss?"

He rolled over again, his head disappearing over the edge. "Take a nap, Bakura."

He snarled, jumping to his feet. "You bastard! I'm gonna beat the shit out of you-"

Ryou grabbed his sleeve as he tried to climb up the ladder to the top bunk. "Bakura, don't," he said worriedly. "We'll get in trouble!"

Bakura snarled again. He jerked Ryou off the bed and slammed him into the edge of the middle bunk so hard that he gasped. "Don't tell me what to do!" he snapped.

One of the guards patrolling the corridors paused outside their door. "Hey, keep it down in there!"

Bakura shot the guard a nasty look, but release Ryou and moodily went back over to sit in the corner again.

"I'm sorry, Bakura."

Bakura looked up, startled. He was even more surprised to see that Ryou was crying. "I-I know you're really mad at me. I messed up so bad back there... I should never have asked to come, but I was just trying to help..."

Then Ryou stiffed, as Bakura wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry too," he said quietly, and the other relaxed a little. Hmm... He was surprised at how nice Ryou's hair smelled. His own, he knew, probably smelled like a mixture of filth and cigarette smoke, but this smelled like... Just then, he realized that Jou was staring at them. So were the people in the cell across the hall. He glared at them all, as if daring them to comment, and retreated to his corner once again.

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The gang, minus Bakura and Jou, had assembled for an emergency meeting. Since Ryou wasn't with them either, they were at their hideout for once.

"Okay, what the hell are we going to do?" Kaiba demanded. "Malik, you're in charge right now; use your brain."

He snorted. "I thought you were the smart one, or at least that's what you always say..."

Yami glowered at them. "Settle down, guys."

"Oh, like you have any ideas-"

"Shut up, EVERYONE!" They all turned to gape at Mai. "You're really pathetic without Bakura to keep you in line; did you know that? Not to mention he seemed to be the only one who could come up with any ideas. It's so obvious. I'll just ask my parents for bail money; the guy at the jail said it would be a lot so I'll use that car excuse."

Malik frowned. "I don't know. Bakura said we were only supposed to use your parents for emergencies. He's already going to be pissed from being stuck in a jail; do you want to make him even more mad?"

She stamped her foot impatiently. "Would you listen to yourself? Maybe it's just me, but I would think he'd consider _himself _being stuck in jail an emergency. Anyway, not asking my parent for money when we should have is what got us in this mess in the first place!"

Kaiba and Malik exchanged nervous glances that said, 'why is she so pissed?'

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It took a couple days to settle matters. The three of them were, after all, charged with assault, attempted robbery, etc., etc. But Mai got enough money in the end, and when they walked out of the jail the whole gang was waiting for them.

"Now, you guys did lie to my dad, right?" Bakura said, once they had gotten passed greetings.

Malik winced. "Hey, we would have, but the jail called him. He's kinda pissed... But don't worry; he's scared of you, remember?"

He grinned evilly. "True, true..."

Jou separated from the rest of the group to thank Mai. "That was really awesome, what you did for us," he said, grinning awkwardly. "You wouldn't believe the food in that place; it was awful..."

Mai smiled, then to his surprise, she hugged him. "I only did it because of you," she said quietly. "If it had just been Bakura I might have thought he could probably get out himself, but because you were there I didn't want to take any chances."

Jou raised an eyebrow. "Mai... What are you talkin' about?"

She pulled away and looked up at him, still smiling. "Jou, we need to talk. Come on, let's go." And he yelped as she dragged him over to her motorcycle.

A few moments later, everybody looked up as Mai and Jou drove away. "Hey! Where do they think they're going?" Malik asked disbelievingly.

Bakura threw back his head and laughed. "Finally! That lucky bastard..."

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Eventually, Mai stopped at a park. It was fairly empty at that time of day, so they could have some privacy.

Jou got off first, shaking his hair out, then blushed a little as he offered her a hand to help her off. Mai stared at him for a moment, and rolled her eyes and accepted it.

"I'm not quite that girly, you know," she grumbled.

He grinned, still blushing slightly. "Yeah, I know... What did you want to talk to me about?"

Mai took her time answering, going over to a nearby bench and sitting down. He hesitated, then sat next to her. Finally, she sighed. "I... Well, while you were in jail, I did some thinking. I realized that I really care a lot about you, Jou." His breath caught. "I can't stand seeing anything bad happen to you... I think I'm in love with you."

He didn't know what to say. She... she... Did she just...? His head was spinning. So, since he couldn't speak, he kissed her.

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Ryou sniffled. "Aw!"

Malik elbowed him, from where he was hiding next to him in the bush. "Shh! They'll hear us, and anyway, you're scaring me."

Kaiba sighed. "I'll bet you read shojo manga, don't you?"

Bakura nodded sagely. "He does. He has a whole collection hidden in his closet; I've seen them!"

Yami's eyes went wide. "What would your father say?"

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**A/N**: XD Oh, the mush! Shojo manga... it was like they were talking about porn magazines... I amuse myself far too much, don't you think? Yeah, I know I passed up an opportunity to write a lemon, but I'm just not that big on hentai fluff. It showed, too -.- There are only a few hentai couples I'll even tolerate, to be honest. And anyway, I'm trying to keep it at least a little realistic for once. Well, I suppose technically it still wasn't all that realistic, but... it's closer than what I usually write, right? XP You'll live, I'm sure. Don't worry, there are lemons in the not-too-distant future. But not next chapter XP Soon, though! Promise! Oh, and it occurs to me that I should seize this opportunity to apologize for Malik's extreme OOCness. Or whatever you'd call it. I know he should be, like, emotionally vegetablized after what happened to him, but instead he's pretty much back to his old self. Don't worry; chapter after next it will all be explained. There is a plausible reason behind it, I swear! Is he in denial? Or worse? Bwuhahaha! ...Okay, that was weird, and dramatic, and cheesy, but I know it so it's okay, right? Review onegai?


	7. Wonderful

**Disclaimer**: Who-o-oO-O-Oo-o-oO-O-O! ...Drat, and here I was hoping to scare the lawyers off. Yugioh not mine, meh. Neither is 'Beautiful Night' by The Burden Brothers.

**A/N**: I have discovered that it is getting harder and harder to come up with one-word titles. Has anyone noticed how cunningly I've managed to keep the title of each chapter down to one word? No? O.O All that hard work, for nothing... (swoon) ...heh... Yes, I am absolutely insane, I know :) (sniffle) This chapter is gonna be sad... Probably, if it actually goes the way I planned for once... But at least it will contain the RyouxBakura fluff you've all been buggin' me for! (happy, happy, joy, joy) Oh, and I have no excuse whatsoever for why Bakura might be listening to American music despite the fact that he lives in Japan. Sorry. Okay, shutting up now. Enjoy!

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**Chapter Seven**: Wonderful

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Bakura lay sprawled out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. What were they going to do now? Because he, Ryou and Jou had all been caught, they hadn't been able to get enough money to pay for Malik's hospital bills.

The answer was simple, really. He could just accept Mai's charity. But it was going to take a while for his pride to let him admit he was wrong.

His mind wandered to less uncomfortable subjects. What about Mai and Jou, eh? They made a great couple... He was pretty jealous, actually. He wished he could get himself a girl. But who would be interested in a dangerous criminal like him? Well, plenty of girls, really, but they weren't his type.

He was so deep in thought that he actually managed to miss the screams from downstairs. But he didn't miss it, a few minutes later, when someone came running up the stairs. Nor did he miss it when Ryou came bursting into his room without even knocking and threw his arms around him.

Bakura squeaked. W-what the hell did he think he was doing? He blushed. He was... warm...

Ryou pulled away, giggling. It was then that Bakura noticed the letter clutched in his hand. "Bakura! You'll never believe it!"

He raised an eyebrow, trying to get his blush to go away. "What? Have you lost your mind? Well, I'd believe that..."

He glowered at him, but was apparently too happy to get really mad. "No, baka. I just got a letter from the lawyer that was settling all of our mother's affairs back in Britain. He says that they've located her will - she left everything to me!"

Bakura gaped. "M-money?" he managed to get out, his eyes lighting up. Then the words register, and he frowned. "Hey, none for me? That's rude..."

Ryou giggled again. "Oh, don't worry, I'll give you some! And we can pay off Malik's hospital bills too! And I think I'll give some to Jou and Kaiba, too, because they've got it pretty bad..."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "...How much money did you get?" he demanded.

Ryou shrugged. "Tons! Mother was very rich. And then there's the house, too. This is so amazing, I could kiss you!"

Bakura made a face. "I don't think you need to go that far, imoto," he said, shivering.

Ryou grinned mischievously. "Hey, how many times have I told you not to call me that? Okay, just for that, I am going to kiss you!"

Bakura stared. H-he... He WHAT! Well, this seemed like a pretty good reason to run away... He tried to get up, but Ryou grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back onto the bed. He probably could have gotten away, but he was so shocked that he just lay there, and... Ryou kissed him on the cheek.

Bakura gaped as Ryou stood up, and winked. "Hah, I scared you, didn't I? And you know, I just thought of something - if I'm a girl, but we're identical twins, then you must be a girl too! Hey, I need to go tell dad about the will; see you!" And he walked out.

Bakura raised a hand to touch his cheek, dazed. What... was that all about? More importantly, why did he feel disappointed now?

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Hours passed slowly. After the Incident, as he had come to think of it, Bakura had purposely disappeared. He had gone up onto the roof, possibly the most private place at their house next to the bathroom, and spent the next few hours thinking.

It probably isn't good to be alone after something like that, he thought half-jokingly. I might make something out of it.

He sighed. Too late for that...

It was dark now, and cloudy. The only stars to be seen were the artificial ones, the city lights. Cities were always more beautiful at night... but its charm was lost on him. Bakura was staring at the dark sky, thinking - and listening to music; he had brought a portable radio and headphones up with him.

_It's a beautiful night for feeling lonely_

_A beautiful night for being afraid_

_So raise your hands, you one and only's_

_You one-of-a-kinds who feel this way_

_I don't want to talk, don't want to explain it_

_I don't want to fuck and I don't want to fight_

_It's only a feeling, it's fleet and fading_

_It's all over the world, and it's only tonight_

_Cause it's a beautiful night, beautiful night, yeah_

_Beautiful night, beautiful night to be here..._

He narrowed his eyes. This song fitted his mood... Too well.

_It's a perfect time for being wasted,_

_A perfect time to watch the stars..._

There were no stars tonight...

Suddenly, he ripped the headphones off. Enough. Maybe that's what he needed to do; get wasted. Stop thinking... Then he looked up.

Ryou was sitting on the roof next to him, smiling.

"So this is where you ran off to," he commented, smiling. "We were worried about you... Is something wrong?"

Bakura blinked at him, then rolled onto his back again. "Nope," he said simply.

Ryou chuckled, resting his chin on his palm. "Y'know, you're pretty weird, but I don't think even you're weird enough to spend the afternoon on the roof for no particular reason."

Bakura scowled. Damn, this kid _was _smart... "Drop it, okay?"

Ryou sighed, and layed back too. "Bakura, I... I haven't really know you that long. And I've found out that you can be very cruel." Bakura winced. Oh, how sweet... "But... I think you're actually a really good person underneath. So if you would just tell me what's wrong, I'll try to help if I can."

Well... that came as a bit of a surprise. Did he really think that? He supposed he owed it to him, for showing him such undeserving kindness... But what exaclty _was _wrong, anyway? All these hours out here, and he still wasn't sure exactly what it was that he was feeling...

He flashed to all those times on the motercycle with Ryou clinging to his waist for dear life... or the time in the jail... that kiss, and the dissapointment he felt afterwards, wanting more... Did he really feel something more than brotherly towards him? He bit his lip, wishing this was just a bad dream that he could wake up from. That was... disgusting... but...

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Ryou, staring worriedly at him. Maybe it was a beautiful night, after all... He kissed him.

It was the slow but desperate kind of kiss of someone who knows this will probably be the only one they will ever get. He pinned his hands gently to the roof... then he pulled away, panting. For a moment they just stared at each other; Bakura tried in vain to read the other's eyes. Then he released his hands and stood up, his back turned.

"What..." he heard Ryou whisper, so quitetly that he bairly caught it.

"I just wanted to see what it was like," he muttered.

"And?"

He closed his eyes. It wasn't supposed to hurt like this, was it? "It was... wonderful."

Slowly, Ryou stood up too, and walked away.

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**A/N**: (sniff) (sniffle) Wah! That was one of the saddest things I've ever had to write! And... I have discovered that writing sad, cruel things makes me very happy :) Probably because I know that they will make other people much sadder than they made me; bwuhahaha! Hey, look on the bright side; at least I _finally _explained the title... Um, review onegai?


	8. Reason

**Disclaimer**: Okay, it's not mine. BUT THE CARROTS ARE! BWUHAHAHA!

**A/N**: (sweatdrop) Argh, another evil edit. (points at disclaimer) See, look! Mutilating my story has driven me to insanity! (Author's alternate personality Krad says: It's only a short putt...) Eh, urusei. Anyone can make that joke. As usual, there will be a link in my bio (I would put these things in the chapters, but ff net won't let me for some reason... oh no, they're on to us!). Though I personally don't think you'd be missing much by reading this version; I think this is pretty indisputably the worst lemon in this story... (Alternate personality Shigure: (shoves author in a bag) Quiet! You'll scare 'em all off!)

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**Chapter Eight**: Reason

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Yami blew a bang out of his face, and watched the clock. Three... two... one... Yes! Finally, his shift at the game shop was over! "Yuugi, your turn!" he called upstairs, heading that way himself.

Yuugi came down, taking the steps two at a time. He paused, though, to give Yami a quick hug. He chuckled, and ruffled his little brother's nearly identical hair. Yuugi giggled, before continuing on his way.

Yami smiled, about to do the same, but he froze. Up at the top of the stairs, leaning casually against the wall, was Malik. His breath caught... "You two... have a very compassionate relationship, don't you?" the blonde commented.

Yami winced. "Malik..." He just smiled, and walked away.

He hesitated, not sure what to do. Malik was so... enigmatic. He was a complete mystery, and even though he had been living at his house for over a week now, he still hadn't been able to figure him out. He hid his feelings utterly. The smile as he left meant nothing - at least, Yami thought it didn't, but he couldn't be sure... Unless he followed him.

A few minutes later, Yami knocked hesitantly on Malik's door. "Who is it?" he called from inside.

"Yami. Can I come in?"

There was a long pause. "If you want."

He opened the door, and squinted. It was dark inside; all the lights were off. And it was cloudy tonight, so there wasn't even any light from the moon. He could see Malik's silhouette, though, because he was standing in front of the window. Yami stepped inside, and tentatively closed the door. "I'm sorry," he started, despite not really sure what he was apologizing for. "Are... you okay?"

"Of course!" He laughed lightly. "No one realizes what crap that is, do they?"

Yami blinked. "What?"

He heard Malik sigh. "Why did you kill my brother?"

Yami's eyes widened. That came as a bit of a surprise; they hadn't said a word about that since Malik had come here. "I... don't know," he said awkwardly. 'Of course you do!' "I was just so mad at him, for doing that to you... I didn't even stop to think that you wouldn't want me to, but I understand. Despite everything, he was your brother..."

Malik whirled around. Now that his eyes had adjusted, Yami could just make out his face. It frightened him, more than Malik usually did. "You understand nothing!" he hissed. "I didn't want you to kill him because I wanted to kill him myself! I hate him... that bastard... You couldn't even begin to understand what my life has been like! I was supposed to kill him..." Trembling, he sunk to his knees, holding his head as if it hurt.

Yami stared for a moment, then rushed over. "Malik-" he started, laying a hand on his arm. Malik lashed out, hitting him across the face so hard that he fell backward.

"Don't touch me!" he screamed. Then his eyes widened, and he timidly reached out to brush his fingers across the red mark on the other's face. Yami flinched, and Malik hurriedly pulled back. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Yami couldn't believe it. Was Malik... crying? He cautiously touched Malik's arm again, and when he didn't react he awkwardly wrapped his arms around him. 'I shouldn't...' Malik stiffened at first, but gradually relaxed.

Eventually, he stopped crying. He was so still and silent that Yami was beginning to think that he'd fallen asleep, and then he spoke. "Why did you really kill my brother, Yami? You are too good to be a part of Darkness, seriously, because you can't tell a lie."

He winced. Damn. If anybody was good enough to catch him, he should have known it would be Malik. "I'm... sorry. I can't tell you right now; maybe someday..."

Malik pulled away, turning to look at him. "I don't believe you," he said bitterly. "Only someone as nice as you would refuse to tell a person why their own brother is dead because they think, what? That it will hurt them?"

Yami winced again. And if anyone could pull off a guilt trip that well, it was Malik. No, he couldn't let him get to him. If he told him now, there was no way...

Malik slapped him again, and judging from the cold look in his eyes, it didn't seem like there would be any apology this time. "Fuck you," he snapped, and got up to leave.

Yami grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry," he said hurriedly, feeling like he was witnessing a train wreck and couldn't do a thing about it. "I... The reason I killed Marik is... I love you." And he released him, fully expecting him to run away and never talk to him again.

After a few moments, Malik sunk to the ground again. Yami waiting, wondering what to do, and realized that Malik was crying again. So, not being able to think of anything to say, he held him for a while longer. And outside, it started to rain.

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"It's really coming down cats and dogs out there, isn't it?" Ryou's dad said cheerfully. "Bakura came in, right?"

Ryou just kept staring out the window. His dad raised an eyebrow, but walked away.

Bakura had not actually come in. He let the rain wash over him, drenching him and plastering his hair to the roof, as he thought. Why...? Why had he been so stupid?

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It was the next day. Yami hit the 'off' button on his alarm without opening his eyes, and let himself wake up slowly. He had this unpleasant feeling that once he woke up the whole way he was going to remember something horrible, and he was in no hurry to do so.

Finally, he had to open his eyes. And it all came flooding back... What had he done?

Then he rolled over, and there was Malik.

The blonde chuckled as he gasped. "No need to be so surprised, Yami-kun," he said softly. "I've been waiting for you to wake up... I did a lot of thinking, last night. And I decided... Hmm, too hard to put in to words..." Smirking a little, he leaned forward and kissed him. Yami was more than willing to give into his touch, moaning a little as he straddled his hips...

The alarm clock went off, and Yami sat blot upright. He was... alone. He grimaced. And his sheets, ugh... Fuck it.

After he had cleaned himself up a little, he got dressed and headed down to breakfast. He eyed the coffee cup at his place with distaste; he didn't want to drink it. As long as he stayed numbly half-asleep, everything would be okay... Then he blinked owlishly. "Where's Malik?"

His grandpa shook his head. "In his room. Yuugi and I went up to check on him when he didn't come down, and he told us to, er, leave. Only a bit more figuratively than that. Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"No," he lied dully. Malik may be able to tell when he lied, but there was no way his grandpa could.

He shrugged. "Oh, all right then. Well, it's Saturday; no rush."

After breakfast, he went upstairs and banged on Malik's door. "You can't mope around all day, you know," he said dryly.

"Fuck off!"

Yami sighed; ah, he'd thought that was what jii-san had meant. He sat down, back against the door. "This is your own fault, you know," he said gently. "You asked."

Something hit the door, and shattered. He jumped. "Fuck off!"

He moaned, massaging his temples. Was that a migraine he felt coming on? "Do you really hate me that much?" he demanded.

Suddenly, the door opened. He fell over backwards, discovering the hard way that it had been a china bowl Malik had thrown. The other boy stared down at him for a moment, then looked away. "Get off your ass; you look like an idiot," he grumbled. When Yami didn't get up right away he grabbed his arm and pulled him in, closing the door behind him.

Yami had a moment to look Malik over. His hair was tousled and his eyes were slightly bloodshot, but unfortunately he didn't look any less sexy. At least not to him... Then Malik spoke.

"I don't hate you, you know," he said, not meeting his eyes. "I just don't know what to do right now... I haven't know what to do this whole damn time, and you've only made it worse..."

Yami ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I'm open to suggestions," he said, feeling exhausted. Then Malik kissed him.

Before he could get over his shock enough to react, Malik pulled away. This time he looked him right in the eyes. "If I were to be with you... what would you do?"

Yami stared back at him, thoughtful. "If you mean, will I hurt you, then no. Never."

Malik smiled a little, and hesitantly kissed him again. This time Yami kissed back, pulling him close. This felt so good, and he never wanted it to stop... But unfortunately, there was something he needed to ask. He broke away.

"Malik, I have to know something. Anything we do... will it be because you love me, or will it be because you want to forget about Marik?"

He looked up a little guiltily, and also a little sadly. "Maybe a bit of both?" he said. "But more of the first..."

Yami sighed, and allowed himself to be pulled into another kiss. It was good enough for him, really. Even if it had been completely about forgetting Marik, he wouldn't have minded it. As long as it made Malik feel better...

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Time marches on. At some point, they slept. And then...

Yami woke to the sound of someone banging on the door. "Malik, would you like some lunch?"

Ah, jii-san. "Fuck off!" Malik said, sounding utterly content. It was a bizarre combination. There was a pause before he heard the sound of footsteps walking away. Yami opened his eyes.

Malik grinned that ever-so-slightly deranged grin he had. He was playing with a lock of Yami's hair. "Good morning, koi. Or afternoon..."

Melt. He could already feel himself getting aroused. He also felt an immeasurable wave of relief. "Hi," he managed to get out, cursing himself for being lame.

Malik chuckled. "You read porn, don't you?"

He blinked, startled. "Er... How'd you know?"

"Well, you seem so experienced, but you were obviously a virgin..."

He rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. Anyway, it's quality literature." And he kissed him.

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**A/N**: Quality literature forever! XD Erm... Hmm, I seem to have slightly lost my handle on the whole realistic thing I was aiming for... Hey, it's Malik; it's gonna be a little unrealistic! Right? Oh well. Just tell me this fic hasn't gone completely downhill, and I'll be happy :) Review on-e-e-egai-i-i-i?


	9. Charity

**Disclaimer**: I hate radio DJs. Oh, and Yugioh ain't mine.

**A/N**: Uh, sorry if you happen to be a radio DJ O.o But it's true! Well, okay, so I don't hate _them_; they're just doing their job. More like I hate the whole concept. Why do people have to talk between songs? Why, I ask you, why! ...Has anybody noticed how obsessed I am with music? This author's note, and the one where I was whining about my poor CDs, not to mention the fact that this fic is named after a song... (sweatdrop)

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**Chapter Nine**: Charity

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The next morning, Ryou tried to call Yami and Malik first. But Mr. Mouto said that Malik was locked in his room and Yami was apparently out. So he just called Mai. He told her about the will, and his plans to give a lot of the money to Jou and Kaiba. He invited her to come along with him; she accepted, and they got off.

When he looked up, he saw Bakura leaning against the living room doorframe. "I hope you can get Kaiba to accept your offer; he always was a bit of a hard-ass," he said quietly, staring at the ground.

Ryou shivered, and started to walk away. "Wait." He had half a mind to keep going, but he stopped anyway. "You need a ride, don't you?"

"No thanks," he said simply. "I'll walk."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Good luck on that, though I'd think it would be a bit of hindrance not knowing where they live..."

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In the end, Ryou did wind up riding with Bakura, despite the face that any type of physical contact with him was the last thing he wanted right now. But when they arrived at Jou's apartment building, he hurriedly put Mai between them - and Yuugi, too.

"What are you doing here, Yuugi?" he asked curiously.

He beamed. "Jii-san told me about what you said, and I called Mai and asked her to pick me up. I can't wait to see their faces!" Ryou chuckled at that, and together they walked to Jou's apartment.

When they got there, Ryou knocked a little nervously. This place didn't look much better than where Malik used to live... He was just about to knock again, when Jou finally opened the door. He grinned at them, stepping outside and shutting the door before speaking.

"Hey guys; what's up?"

Ryou frowned. "Is anything wrong, Jou?"

He shrugged. "Nah. Just didn't want to wake my old man up..."

Ryou winced; oh, that would explain it... "Hey, I have a present for you."

He took the check Ryou held out for him, looking confused. Then he read the amount, and his eyes went wide. "W-what? Um, real funny, Ryou."

He grinned. "It's no joke, Jou. I just inherited my mom's fortune, and I figured I'd share some of it with you."

His mouth fell open, and he looked down at the check again. "R-Ryou, no way! This is enough to get me own apartment... hell, my own house! You can't give this much to me!"

Mai whapped him. "Don't be a knuckhead!" she said firmly. "Do you know how much money he got?" She leaned close, and whispered something in his ear. His eyes went even wider than they already were.

Grinning hugely, he hugged Ryou. He squeaked, then giggled. "Man, Ryou, I... I don't know what to say! Thank you!"

He smiled as Jou let him go. "It's nothing," he said earnestly. "Hey, I have another check I'm going to give to Kaiba; you want to come?"

He scoffed. "You're givin' money to that ass? Eh, I suppose he needs it worse than me, really... He sure doesn't deserve it, though. Fine, I'll come; I hardly ever get to see something surprise Kaiba..."

A little later, they drove to a stop outside Kaiba's house. Ryou started to knock on the door, but then Jou pushed him out of the way. "Let me; I love doing this..." He pounded on the door hard enough to make it shake on its hinges, shouting, "Get yer ass out here, Kaiba!" Ryou sweatdropped.

After about a minute's worth of this, Kaiba finally opened the door. "What the fuck do you want?" he snapped. "It's too early to have to put up with you freaks..."

Jou snickered. Kaiba was wearing his usual clothes, but it was very likely that he didn't own any pajamas. His messy hair and half-asleep expression spoke for themselves. "Early? It's ten o'clock! Late night, Kaiba?"

He scowled. "One more word, and I will rip your spine out and strangle you with it." Jou paled slightly. "Not as if it's any of your business, but I just like to sleep late. Now, I'm only going to ask one more time, what the fuck do you want?"

Ryou grinned nervously. "Here, this is for you," he said, handing him a check.

Kaiba stared blankly at it for a minute, then looked back up. "Is this supposed to be funny?"

"Nope! I just inherited a whole bunch of money, so I thought I'd give some to you. You can buy your own house, and-"

As he talked, Kaiba's eyes narrowed. Now he dropped to check to the ground. "You'd better burn that, because I don't want it," he said quietly, and slammed the door in their faces.

They all exchanged shocked looks. Bakura sighed. "I thought he'd do this," he commented.

Jou started hammering on the door again. "You better get back out here right now, Kaiba!" But there was no response.

Finally, he sighed. "I'm sorry, Ryou, but I really don't think there's anything we can do," he admitted.

He shrugged sadly. "Oh well," he said. "At least we tried... Next time you see him, tell him the offer's still open." And they turned to go.

"Ryou, give the check to me."

Ryou looked up, startled. It was Yuugi who had spoken. "I think I might be able to talk him into it," he continued.

Jou eyed him quizzically. "No offense, Yug', but I think it's gonna take a lot more than you to get to that bastard."

He smiled. "I wouldn't be so sure. The other day, when he didn't show up at the hospital, we talked about a lot of things..."

Ryou raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, Yuugi... I think it would take a lot more than one conversation to get close to Kaiba..." But Yuugi just shook his head determinedly.

"Maybe when he's sober," he said, just a hint of mischief in his voice.

Mai waved a hand as Ryou was about to protest again. "You've never seen Kaiba drunk, Ryou; I'm almost inclined to believe him. Anyway, he knows best, I'm sure. Give him a shot." Reluctantly, Ryou handed the check over. "I'll just wait outside, 'kay?" Yuugi smiled thankfully.

Once the others had gone, Yuugi knocked on the door. After a few moments, Kaiba opened it. "Wha - Yuugi? What are you still doing here?"

Before he could protest, Yuugi darted under his arm into the house. "Kaiba, don't be such an idiot!" Kaiba stared. "All you can think of is your own stupid pride, but did it ever occur to you that you're supposed to be taking care of Mokuba? You're letting him grow up in a filthy neighborhood, in a house that the city could come and tear down any time! In fact, they should have already, because it's not safe." He gestured at the rotting floorboards and moldy wallpaper. "I thought you were more responsible than that!"

Kaiba glared. "I know perfectly well what my responsibilities are," he snapped. "And I can take care of them just fine without help from anybody else!"

Yuugi leaned past him and pushed the door shut. "Okay, then prove it," he said. "Take back Kaiba Corp. It's rightfully yours; you said so yourself."

"I don't want to have anything to do with that company," he said tensely. "Get out of my house."

Yuugi laughed humorlessly. "What did I just get finished saying, Kaiba? It's not even your house! But I guess it's worth you and your little brother getting kicked out on the streets as long as you don't loose face, huh? I don't want that to happen to Mokuba... or you..." And with that he pushed past him, shutting his own door in his face and leaving him with the unpleasant suspicion that Yuugi had been crying.

It was only after staring dazedly at the door for a few moments that Kaiba realized Yuugi had shoved the check into his hand. He sighed, ripping it up.

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It was getting late again. Bakura lay on his back in bed, trying to drown his mind in music. But over the song, he heard someone knocking on the door. He switched the radio off, the closest he tended to get to an invitation to come in.

Ryou poked his head around the door. "Can I talk to you?" he asked a little nervously.

Bakura just shrugged, feeling disgusted by his own cold behavior. Ryou hesitated, then came in, sitting down at the very edge of the bed. He looked poised to run at any moment. "I'm not going to eat you, you know," Bakura said dryly.

"I know," he said apologetically, grinning a little. But he quickly sobered up again. "Listen, I need to talk to you about... the other night."

Bakura froze, suddenly becoming fascinated by his carpet. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I shouldn't have... I know it was wrong, but-"

"But I liked it," Ryou said bitterly. "Which is why... I can't stay here. I'm running away. Don't tell dad?"

He gaped. "W-what? No fucking way! There're people out there who'll chew you up and spit you out; I can't-"

"I am fifteen, you know," he interrupted. "I'm almost old enough to get a job; I'll be able to get by on the money I inherited until then. I'm not a baby, Bakura."

"Where'll you go?" he demanded, failing to keep the panic out of his voice. "Ever thought about that?"

He shrugged. "Wherever I can. Who knows? Maybe I'll use some of my money to buy a house down south where it's warmer, or I could fly to Britain and live with my friends back there. I just... can't stay here... I'm sorry."

Bakura shook his head, feeling dazed. "What's so wrong about us being together, anyway?" he asked quietly. "We both care about each other..." Ryou just stared at him. He sighed. "Fine. So you're really set on this, huh?" Ryou nodded. "No _fucking _way. I can't let you do that; you don't know the first thing about taking care of yourself. I know you hate it when I say that, but it's true. I'll leave."

Ryou's eyes widened. "But - Bakura, all your friends-"

He shrugged. "So what? They're your friends too. I think Malik and Mai together are enough to keep the rest of them from ripping each other to shreds. If we can't be together, at least let me do this much for you. This whole mess is my fault, anyway."

Ryou bowed his head. "What'll I tell dad? He's known you all your life; I'm kind of just a new-comer."

Bakura shrugged again. "Tell him whatever. Tell him you have no idea and you never heard a thing about it. Tell him I left on a mystical magical journey of self-exploration."

He managed a small smile. "Oh, how I will miss your sarcasm... Thank you, Bakura. Thank you so much..." He stood to go out, paused, and gave Bakura quick hug. Then he hurried off.

Bakura sighed, and turned the radio back on. Well, he certainly had a lot to think about now...

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**A/N**: (sniffle) Gee, this chapter was pretty sad too -.- Yay! You know what's not fair? BulmaWannabe, her sister The Mad Tea Party, and I went to the mall yesterday. And Mad Tea Party saw the t-shirt that said 'Your anger makes me happy' first! But oh well; I got the t-shirt that says 'I know how you feel. I just don't care.' So it's all good :) Hmm, cool; I originally meant the title of this chapter to apply to the part with Kaiba, but it kinda applies to the last part, too. . Deep... Oh! And one more random thing! I just thought I ought to warn you now, so I don't get stoned to death for springing it on you all of the sudden - there are only two more chapters to this ficcy! T.T So sad... I think this'll be my longest posted fic to date O.o Review onegai?


	10. Unpredictable

**Disclaimer:** Fu fu fu, Yugioh ain't mine. Neither is Happy Bunny, in case you weren't sure.

**A/N:** W00t! This is the first time any of my stories has ever reached the double digits, chapter-wise! ...That's very sad, isn't it? (sweatdrop) I write short fics; I can't help it. But anyway, be proud of me :) Or be proud of yourself; it wouldn't have gotten this far without all you wonderful reviewers, after all. (sparkle, shine) Hmm... EVIL EDIT! Yes, that's right, another one. This one didn't exactly edit too well, either. It was hard to find a good break... And it doesn't help that I'm not really willing to put a lot of effort into mutilating my stories... (blush) Hope I didn't leave too much in. Though who in their right minds would _actually _be bothered, I don't know... (grin) There is a link in my bio for the full thing, naturally.

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**Chapter Ten:** Unpredictable

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Yami smiled, watching Malik sleep. This had become his second favorite pastime, next to the one thing that seemed to get Malik tired enough to sleep...

It was very fascinating watching him sleep, Yami mused. Malik was this close to swallowing a substantial piece of hair every time he inhaled. He looked so... sweet... too. Yami would have practically expected this guy to be able to smirk in his sleep, but no...

He sighed, and got up as quietly as he could. Well, as nice as this was, he needed to go fix something now that he finally had some spare time...

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Yuugi jumped at the knock on his door. "Yeah?" he asked hurriedly.

Yami came in. "Hi," he said cheerfully. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eyes, decided he had no chance whatsoever of lying to him, and shrugged. "Thinking, I guess."

Yami chuckled. "You're worried, right?" Yuugi's eyes went wide. "About Kaiba."

Yep, definitely no chance of lying there. Yuugi groaned. "I suppose so," he admitted. "It's just, he hasn't shown up for a few days; I know he does that all the time, but I think... I think he's pretty mad at us. Especially me."

Yami nodded sagely. "Yes, he probably is. Kaiba is not the type to accept charity. If I'd known about what you guys were planning, I would have advised against it. But anyway, I think if you're worried, you should go check up on him."

He blanched. "G-go see him? I don't know..." Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Hey, why didn't you know about what we were planning, anyway? Where were you? Come to think of it, you've been disappearing a lot lately..."

Yami sweatdropped. "Eh? Um, I, um..."

Yuugi grinned. "'Um?' Go on..."

"Er-"

"'Er?'"

"Uh..."

"'Uh?'"

"Do you have any idea how annoying that is!"

Yuugi grinned more. "Yeah, I do."

"...Brat... Look, it's kind of private, okay?"

To his surprise, Yuugi beamed. "Aw, I knew it! You and Malik are together, right?"

He choked. "You - what - how?"

He shrugged. "Oh, come on. Even jii-san has guessed by now. You're so noisy, Yami."

Yuugi had to dodge a flying pillow. "I am not! It's Malik who-"

Yuugi snickered. "You know it's true; you're bright red..." At Yami's murderous glare, he abruptly changed tactics. "Um, I think I'm going to take your advice on visiting Kaiba after all; bye now!"

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When he got to Kaiba's house, it took even longer than usual for him to come to the door. In fact, he didn't come at all. And when Yuugi checked the door, it was unlocked.

The house looked utterly unlived in. It was even dustier than usual, and while there was no electricity there were usually some battery-powered lights or candles. Now there was nothing.

Yuugi stood at the entrance to the living room, shocked. Was he so mad at them that...? No way. Kaiba wasn't the sort of person to freak out over something like that. Had something happened to him?

Then something caught his eye. A piece of paper, strikingly white compared to the surrounding dusty furniture, was sitting on the couch. He eagerly picked it up, hoping it might offer some clues.

It read: 'Yuugi, I've taken Mokuba and gone on a trip. I shouldn't be gone too long but I'll give you a call when I get back. Seto Kaiba.'

He frowned. Why the heck did he address it to him? Then the words registered. Where had he gone? The letter didn't say, and he couldn't think of anything. Thoughtfully, he put the note in his pocket and left.

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A week passed. Yuugi told the rest of the gang about the letter. They weren't too bothered; as Jou put it, 'No one really understands that Kaiba.' He tactfully avoided mentioning the fact that the letter was addressed only to him, deciding he was going to have to asked Kaiba about it when he got back.

The next Sunday, just as everyone was finishing eating dinner, the phone rang. As he had been doing lately, Yuugi pounced on the phone before his Grandpa could even get out of his chair.

"Moshi moshi?" he said, slightly out of breath from running the whole way from the dining room.

On the other end, someone chuckled. "Yuugi? It's Kaiba."

He grinned hugely. "Really! Finally! Where've you been?"

"Long story," he said mysteriously. "Could you come over? I'll tell you then; I could really use some help with all this crap..."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "'Crap?'" he echoed. "What are you talking about?"

He chuckled again, ignoring the question. "Can you come over or not?"

Yuugi sighed. That was Kaiba all right. "Sure; I'll be over as soon as I can."

"Good." And with that, he hung up.

As he did the same, Yuugi couldn't help but smile a little. Well, wherever he'd gone it seemed to have done him good. He couldn't remember ever hearing him sound so... no, not happy. Happy wasn't Seto Kaiba's style. But pleased, maybe?

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Yuugi managed to convince Yami to drive him on his motorcycle, though he refused to come inside. Yami and Kaiba didn't exactly get along that well, after all. He said he could give him a call from the nearest pay phone when he wanted to be picked up.

When Kaiba opened the door, Yuugi couldn't help but stare. Usually Kaiba wore fairly plain clothes, his only accessory being an ever-present navy blue trench coat. But today that had completely changed. He wore a trench coat, but it was white, and adorned with belts and metal studs. "Very fashionable," Yuugi commented, a bit surprised.

He just rolled his eyes, and dragged him inside.

Once they reached the living room, Yuugi was surprised yet again. "What's with all the boxes?" he asked.

"I bought myself a house," he said, smirking. "Mokuba's there right now supervising decorating or whatever; I came back here to get the last of our things."

Yuugi gaped. "You bought a house?" he demanded. "How?"

He lounged on the couch. "I took your advice. You're speaking to the president of Kaiba Corporation, Yuugi."

He sat down next to him, stunned. "I thought you said you didn't want anything to do with them!"

He shrugged. "I supposed I have you to thank," he said a little begrudgingly. "You made me see that if I was going to be so arrogant, I really needed to have something to be arrogant about."

Yuugi groaned, though secretly he was touched. Kaiba had completely changed his life around - because of him? "Oh, great. So now that you've got something to be arrogant about, you're only gonna get worse, right?" Then a thought stuck him, and he frowned. "So... Does this mean that you'll be moving really far away? I've heard about Kaiba Corp. Island; it's pretty far from here."

"Leave this disgusting compost heap of a town? I wouldn't dream of it. Actually, I burned Kaiba Corp. Island to the ground." As Yuugi's eyes widened, he smirked again. "I didn't need it any more, after all. I'm moving the headquarters here, and also, Kaiba Corp. isn't going to be making war weapons any more. We're making gaming technology."

Yuugi couldn't help but grin at that. "I love games! Wow, you sure have changed things..."

He nodded, looking a bit brooding for a moment. "Yeah... I decided that if I was going to be president, Kaiba Corp. would have to become completely unrecognizable..." Then he snapped out of it. "Well anyway, get to work. You said you'd help me pack, right?"

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An hour later, they had finished packing. Kaiba was hardly taking anything with him; all the furniture was unnecessary, for instance. Now they were sitting on the couch again, taking a break before Yuugi went home.

"Hey Kaiba?" Yuugi asked, remembering something.

He glanced up. "What?"

He hesitated. It seemed kind of stupid compared to everything that he'd learned in the last hour, but he just had to ask. "Um... Why did you address that note to me?"

He shrugged. "I knew you'd probably be the only one who cared enough to come looking for me," he said casually.

Yuugi blushed. That made him feel most peculiar. "Thank you," he muttered.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Stop looking like a girl," he snapped. Yuugi giggled, then he stood up.

"Well, I guess I should get home. Where's the nearest pay phone?"

Kaiba frowned slightly. "You don't need to use a pay phone; I have a cell phone. But... do you really want to go already?"

Yuugi blinked, then grinned. "Seto Kaiba! I do believe that you actually want to hang out!"

He scowled. "No, I d... Well, I mean... Do you want to stay?"

He giggled again, and sat back down. "Fine; Yami won't mind. So, what should we do?" Kaiba leaned back, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Yuugi stared at him a moment, and found himself noticing for some reason that when the light hit his face like that... he was actually pretty good-looking. He was jealious. Suddenly, he snickered. Ah-ha, payback for calling him a girl!

"Hey, Kaiba? Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

He had been expecting him to get flustered, but the most he did was go completely still for a moment. Then he looked over at him out of the corner of his eyes. "Have you?"

Yuugi blanched. "I, um... No. Hey, I'm only fourteen!"

"You're that old? I hadn't realized..." Yuugi pouted, though Kaiba's grin suggested that he was teasing. "Neither have I..." He patted his pockets absentmindedly in search of cigarettes, and scowled lightly at not finding any. Then he suddenly said, "I have someone I like, though."

Was it your right arm that was supposed to hurt right before you had a heart attack? Or was it your left...? Yuugi stared, then nearly fell off the couch from laughing too hard.

Kaiba scowled. "Shut up, brat; it's not that funny..."

He grinned, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. He'd been called a brat twice tonight; he was on a roll. "Yes... yes it is!" he managed to get out. "Okay, okay sorry about that. Um... what's she like?"

He rolled his eyes. "Well... she's complicated. I used to think she was very naïve, but lately I've been getting a feeling that's not entirely true. She's... righteous? It can be annoying, but... I don't know... She's younger than me, though, by four whole years. That makes a lot of difference at this age; it means that she's a minor and I'm not."

Yuugi shook his head, disbelieving. Seto Kaiba, going for the young, naïve type? It was... mind-boggling. "Well, I wouldn't let that bother you," he said out loud. "If she's fourteen she's old enough to make her own choices. All that matters is that she likes you too, and I'm sure she will."

"I figured you'd say that," he said dryly. "I think I need a cigarette..." Yuugi glared at him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine, be that way. But anyway, what makes you so sure she'll like me? I'm an ass; even my best friends say so."

Yuugi snickered. "Yeah, they do, don't they?" He just grinned innocently as Kaiba scowled at him again. "Oh, come on. Every naïve little girl love a tall, cold-hearted rich guy."

"Speaking from experience, I'm sure." He sighed. "Be serious, Yuugi."

He shrugged. "Sorry... Well, I'd give you some advice if I could, but like you said, I don't exactly have much experience... You should ask Ryou; he reads those shojo mangas." This actually got Kaiba to crack a smile. "The only piece of advice I can think of is, sweep her off her feet. I've heard they love that. Who is she, anyway? Someone you met while you were off taking over Kaiba Corp.?"

"No, I've known her longer than that."

"So what's her name?" he asked.

"...I'd rather not say."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "Hey, cool! Does that mean it's someone I know?"

"No!"

He giggled. "Oh, it is, it is! Who is it? Come on, tell me! Please?"

Kaiba groaned. "Absolutely not! Have you had sugar or something?"

He smirked evilly. "I'm going to mess up your hair if you don't tell me." Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I warned you!" And Yuugi tackled him. Unfortunately, the brief struggle that followed resulted in them both tumbling off the couch.

For a moment, they both froze. Kaiba knelt over Yuugi, pinning both his arms to the floor. Yuugi blushed. "Um, Kaiba, get off-" His voice trailed off. There was something in Kaiba's eyes just now... the strangest thing... He was just sitting there. Why the-

At which point Kaiba bent down just a little further, brushing his lips briefly but firmly across Yuugi's.

When he pulled away, Kaiba stared down at him. It was amazing that such a little, unimportant boy could make him so afraid. But at this moment, Yuugi held the power to crush him utterly. Perhaps it was because of the power he had over him that he'd finally felt a need to return to Kaiba Corp.; he thought it might be something like that, deep down. And he was so unpredictable... Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke.

"What was _that _for?"

Kaiba winced. He sounded borderline terrified. "You're the one I like, Yuugi," he said with difficulty, and got off him. After a moment, Yuugi stood.

"I-I'm sorry, but I have to go home now," he stuttered. "Yami must be worried, and I... I'm sorry..."

"If you were really sorry, then you'd-" They stared at each other for a moment, and then Kaiba laughed miserably. He rummaged in his pocket, and tossed his cell phone at Yuugi. "Go on, call home. Can't have you out looking for a phone booth at this time of night." It was as close to an appology as he felt he could come at present.

He caught it, and stared at it for a moment. Then, carefully, he set it down on the coffee table. Kaiba stared, but no explanation seemed to be forthcoming. Yuugi sat up with his back against the edge of the couch, hugging his knees to his chest, and the new CEO had no choice but to wait for his verdict.

How had this happened? Yuugi wondered. Why was he even still here? (Because if you leave things like this then you'll never talk to him again). He carefully pretended he hadn't thought that thought, and continued to panic. One minute he'd just been messing around, and then... he... ahhhhh... Okay, okay, going in to shock wasn't going to help anybody. He needed to figure out what to do.

'Oh, so if Kaiba likes underage girls, that's fine, but if he likes boys, that's bad?' a cynical little voice in the back of his head commented. Argh... But this was completely different! It sure is if he likes _me_, anyway! ...Okay, so maybe not. Damn. He would just be being hypocritical if he didn't at least think about it.

But it was impossible for him to have feelings for Kaiba, he tried to reason. He was old, and scary, and... intriguing... No! He was a murderer! Didn't that count for something?

He winced. But it never did before. His own brother had killed people too, after all, and he was his best friend.

He was scrambling for excuses, he realized. Any reason, however pathetic... But this one wasn't pathetic - people didn't tend to fall in love just like that. So he kissed him, and now he was going to fall head over heels for him? Wasn't going to happen. He would have had to already like him for that to work... He blanched.

What exactly had he felt about Seto Kaiba before the kiss, anyway? What if he did like him, after all? He cared about him, worried about him, liked being with him... But friends did that, too. What was the difference between love and friendship, when you got right down to it? Did he want to be with him... forever?

...Yes...

Then, Yuugi kissed Kaiba.

When he pulled away, Kaiba looked amazed. "I-I didn't expect that," he admitted.

Yuugi smiled. "Neither did I."

As they kissed, Kaiba pushed Yuugi onto his back again, and this time there was nothing accidental about it. Feeling him through his clothes, he decided that he liked what he found.

Yuugi moaned slightly as Kaiba began kissing down his neck, arching into the touch. This felt a little strange... but right. And oh so good. He had definitely made the right choice... Sometime during this he lost his vest, and Kaiba his coat. But when Kaiba started to take off the other's shirt, Yuugi tensed.

He immediately pulled away. "I'm going too fast, aren't I?" It was more of a statement than a question. He winced. Shit, he needed to get control of himself... It wasn't something he usually tried to do, after all.

Yuugi shook his head firmly. "No... I just need to catch my breath, that's all."

Kaiba rolled off him, giving him some room. They probably wouldn't get any farther tonight, he thought a little dully. He'd probably freaked Yuugi out more than he was letting on... But oh well, he thought suddenly. They had plenty of time - their whole lives -

Then Yuugi rolled over so he was on top of him. "Okay, I feel better now," he said a little sheepishly.

Kaiba eyed him quizzically. "Did you do that on purpose?"

He grinned. "Well, no, but it was kind of convenient how it worked out..."

Kaiba laughed, surprising himself. Then he stood up with no warning, Yuugi in his arms. The smaller boy gasped. "Making out on the couch is so cheap," he said, smirking. "I am a billionair now, you know; I have a reputation to uphold. This is what beds are for." And he carried him upstairs.

It was a sad little bedroom, really. The few decorations that had been there had already been taken down. The mattress was in good condition, considering, but there was no actual bed. He laughed again. "It's hardly better," he admitted, laying Yuugi down on top of the sheets. "But later, if you want to see me again, it'll be in a mansion..."

Yuugi laughed too. "Of course I'll want to see you again, silly!" And he leaned up and kissed him, gently slipping his tongue into Kaiba's mouth. He shivered, and after a moment he hesitantly started unbuttoning Yuugi's shirt. This time he didn't try to stop him.

Yuugi's chest was like alibaster, except for two rosy, pert nipples. Kaiba felt himself becoming a bit too warm, and mentally scolded himself for being such a pervert. Then Yuugi snickered. "What's the matter? You haven't even gotten my pants off!" he said, and giggled some more. Kaiba decided he was much to giggly, and kissed him again. He wondered if he was even taking this seriously; he better be. But nevertheless he eventually trailed kisses down his neck and to his pretty, pretty chest where he gently licked a nipple. Yuugi moaned, gripping his hair, so he suckled it. Then, shocking himself more than anything else he'd done that night, he stood up.

Yuugi gaped. "Kaiba-kun?"

He grimace, and turned around. "You shouldn't call me that. We shouldn't be doing this, you know."

Yuugi scoffed. "You _did _start it," he point it out. Argh.

"I know," he said, running long fingers through his hair. "But I don't think either of us realizes what we're doing. I'm a CEO now; I'm responsible for so much more than myself or Mokuba now..."

Yuugi sat up, and grabbed his sleeve. "What are you talking about? You're just making excuses!"

Kaiba ignored his hand. "Okay, do you want to know what's really bothering me?" he said coldly. "I think you're too young to fully understand what's happening. I don't want this to be a mistake, though I acknowledge that I may have already made one by starting this."

Yuugi stared. Kaiba had gone pale. "No... That's not right at all, Kaiba. I... Please..."

Kaiba felt like he was sufficating. "No." He had to get out of this house, before he drowned...

"Kaiba!" His hand was on the doorknob. He could just open it, run down the stairs... "Kaiba! You're an idiot!"

Well, that caught his attention. He half-turned, glaring automatically. Yuugi was flushed, as if saying that had been a bit difficult. "Well, you are. This isn't back then, you know!"

Kaiba tried to look incrediulous. "What...?" But it came out so fake that it was bairly worth the effort.

"You're not forcing me to do something I don't want to do!" He smiled. "Do I really need to actually tell you that I love you?"

Of course. Of course. What was he so scared of? There was nothing to worry about, any more, really. This was just happening so fast... He couldn't help but chuckle. Wasn't that supposed to be Yuugi's line? And yet he seemed to be the one totally in control. Mabye he could deal with that, then. He turned back to him...

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_He still couldn't think of the words to say. But he supposed he'd figure it out eventually. He held Yuugi close, and without a single thought from either of them about whether Yami or Mokuba were worrying over their whereabouts right now, they fell asleep._

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Yami sweatdropped, and pulled Malik off the trashcan he was standing on by the back of his shirt. Until just now, anyway, he had been trying to peer in Kaiba's ground floor window.

He groaned, rubbing his rear. "Hey! What the heck was that for?"

Yami rolled his eyes. "I should never have told you Yuugi was coming out here. Would you like people trying to spy on us when we were, urm, you know...?" he demanded.

He grinned mischievously. "Actually, I could, urm, you know right here. On the sidewalk, under the street-light-"

Yami blanched. It had only taken a couple weeks for Malik to go from nervous to a frightening pervert. It seemed to fit his personality much better, actually. "I don't think so!" Then, as an afterthought he added, "Anyway, I'll bet they were just sitting on the couch talking. Like civilized people."

Malik looked a little embarrassed. "Actually, I didn't see anything... But hey, if they're not in the living room that means they could be in the bedroom!"

"Or they _could _be in the kitchen for all we know, dumbass."

Malik giggled. "On the counter, like that one time when everybody else was out..."

Yami whacked him on the head, blushing furiously.

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**A/N:** (giggle) Bad Malik! Bad! Hmm... Wow, did this chapter ever take a long time to write. I'm serious. I started it literally about a year ago. And no, this _wasn't _just because it was so mind-bogglingly long (even editted!). That's gotta be some kind of record. Just be glad I'm posting it after I've finished the whole story ;) Other than that... (deep thought)... Mem. Did you know 'mem' is actually a word? (nods sagely) It's the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (sweatdrop) No, I didn't actually know that until just now either. Er... (huge overly cheesy hopeful grin) Review onegai?


	11. Beautiful Night

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the mold growing under my bed.

**A/N:** But, um, don't tell the mold I said that, or it might revolt. I have issues, yes. Be warned - yet again, this chapter is EDITTED! I think by now you know where to find the uneditted verion's link... (sniffle) Wah, this is the last chapter! So sad... (gets up on imaginary podium) I would like to thank my mom and dad, for kindly avoiding reading it, and all my friends, for reading it even though it probably rotted their brains, and, oh, my glorious reviewers, for being so absolutely, perfectly glorious :) (finally realizes that the podium is imaginary, and falls on her butt) Itai... Just like one of those strange American cartoons! Oh, wait, _I'm_ American... Okay, fine, I guess I have to write something that actually makes sense now, huh?

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**Chapter Eleven**: Beautiful Night

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Ah, the stars... Would they look different where he was going? Maybe... Maybe it would help if he knew where he was going, too.

Bakura sighed. This song was too perky for the way he was feeling right now; he changed the channel on his portable radio.

_All your fears are coming true and_

_This is the time, this is the time of your life_

_That defines you..._

It was that song, he realized. The song he had caught the beginning of... that night... This must be a part he hadn't heard yet.

_So raise your hands, raise your hands..._

He winced, screwing his eyes shut. This song held bad memories now. If only things could have gone some other way... Then he opened his eyes again.

_Under the stars I'm alone among strangers_

_Confused, disconnected, diffused and alive_

_Maybe the future will smile on us_

_Maybe the future is here tonight_

...And there was Ryou...

_Cause it's a beautiful night, beautiful night, yeah_

_Beautiful night, beautiful night to be here_

The song ended as he stared. Ryou looked even more beautiful than usual, with his face framed by stars... He smiled slightly as Bakura switched the radio off.

"What's up?" he asked, with as much normalness as he could work in to his voice, as Ryou sat down next to him on the roof.

"The stars." He chuckled, but there was something a bit downtrodden to his voice, too. "So... You're leaving tonight?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Ryou glanced sideways at him. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Yes," he lied smoothly.

He scoffed. "Sure." Then he handed him a slip of paper. "Here..." He concentrated on the city lights for a moment. "Because it really ought to be me, you know..."

Bakura stared at the check for a long time. It was practically all the money Ryou had left. "I can't take this," he insisted.

"Yes you can!"

He stared for a moment, wishing he could say 'If you'd just let me stay, I wouldn't have to.' But instead he just lay back again. "Ah... maybe you're right... of course you're right; you're always right..."

Ryou frowned lightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

No, he couldn't help it; he scowled. "You _would _say something stupid like that! Fine, then, I'll tell you - you're too right for your own good! _I _don't want to go. You say you want me to leave, but I really don't think you do. What if I was some girl you weren't related to at all? Would you be happy then?"

He was on his feet now, shouting. Ryou was too stunned to move for a moment, but then he scrambled rather quickly to his feet. "I-I think you're crazy," he stammered, starting to leave. "I don't know what-"

Bakura gave up completely in frusteration. He grabbed Ryou's shoulders, spun him around and kissed him roughly. Ryou didn't try to push him away but just clung to his shoulders, most likely in shock, as Bakura forced his lips open with his tongue... So he was the one to back away instead, glaring fiercly.

"Am I just flatterring myself?" he demanded. "Doesn't that make you feel anything at all?"

After an infintely long time, when Bakura was just about ready to give up, Ryou said quietly, "No. Nothing."

And _then _he flung himself into his brother's arms, sobbing.

Bakura sighed, and inhaled deeply with his nose buried in Ryou's hair. "You're a mess," he declared.

"Me?" Ryou sniffled, managing to make even a sniffle sound indignent. "You're the one who's a mess!"

"No, I'm a _sick bastard_," he corrected calmly. "There's a difference. At least I know what I want."

Ryou nearly laughed, through his tears. "_Oh_. But... we... we're-"

"So?" he said haughtily. "It's not that much worse than just two guys, really. And in case you haven't heard, Yami and Malik are together." At Ryou's utterly scandalized expression, he nodded sagely. "And Malik claims there's something going on with Yuugi and Kaiba too now, though I don't believe it... he's too fucking short for him..."

Ryou really did laugh at that. "Well... But..." He shook his head. "No. No. That doesn't matter. It just won't work; don't you see that-?"

He was interrupted again. "You don't think?" Bakura grinned toothily. "Then why exactly are you letting my hug you? Who know what kind of lecherous-" Ryou squeaked and tried to pull away, but Bakura grabbed his wrists in one hand and lifted his chin up with the other, suddenly becoming serious. "Go ahead, then. Tell me that I disgust you, tell me not to ever touch you. Tell me to go away. Tell me you don't ever want to see me again, and you won't! If you can still keep saying that crap, then you're too much of an idiot for me anyway!"

Ryou stared, and didn't answer but simply started crying again. Bakura's expression soften, and he gently kissed him. When he made no attempt to get away Bakura let his hands drop to his sides, and kissed his tears away. Then he grinned again.

"So I guess I'm not so horrible after all!" he said, laughing.

Ryou wrinkled his nose. "You _are _horrible. You're foul-mouthed and filthy-minded." He sighed, laying his head against Bakura's chest. "And I guess I... love you..."

Bakura smiled, and tilted his face up for another kiss. While they kissed he slowly sunk down, bringing Ryou with him, until they were lying on the roof together. Ryou pulled away with a gasp when Bakura slipped a hand up his shirt.

Bakura smirked down at his twin's blushing, startled face. "What?"

Ryou looked back at him for a moment, then looked away in a haze of embarrassment. "...nothing..."

Bakura murmered into the flesh of his neck, "You know, if you're too uncomfortable, then we can wait... Just say the word..." He flicked his tongue over the other's pulse point, sending shivers down his spine.

"N-no!" he said, shaking his head obstinately. "I'm sick and tired of not... not..." Frustrated with his inabilty to put it into words, he pulled Bakura into a quick kiss.

_I'm sick and tired of not letting myself touch you..._

"Well, if you're sure."

Bakura kissed his lips, his face, his neck, while lightly trailing his fingers over his stomach. Finally, imboldened by the lack of protests, he reached up further and gently pinched one of Ryou's nipples; Ryou gasped and grabbed his shoulder weakly. But when Bakura started to lift up his shirt, he stopped him, blushing anew.

"But... I mean..." He looked up sheepishly. "...on the roof?"

He grinned. "Yeah?"

"Bakura!"

He held up his hands in self defense. "What? It's late, you know. Hardly anyone's out this late, in this part of town. And if they are, they're probably just the kind of sick person who would enjoy seeing-"

"Baku_ra_!"

He snickered. "I guess we could go in, if you want," he conceded. "But you do know that our old man's in there somewhere, right?"

Ryou's blush worsened. If Dad heard... or even saw... _uck_... "The roof is good." Bakura laughed, and deftly pulled his brother's shirt over his head.

Ryou shivered momentarily in the cool evening air, but then Bakura hugged him close, burying his face in his neck. "You're beautiful," he declaired. "Delicious..."

Ryou flushed again, but forgot his embarrassment when Bakura started leaving small kisses and bites across his chest. Had he really wanted this all along, or had Bakura just talked him into it? When he stopped to think, if it felt so right, did it matter?

But when Bakura tried next to get a hand between his legs, Ryou had one last moment of seconds thoughts. He was so flustered that he nearly pushed him away and right off the roof, actually. "Make up your mind - are you okay with this or not?" Bakura demanded. He looked him right in the eyes. "...I... _do _love you, you know." And because he only looked just a little bit awkward, Ryou gave in...

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They lay together under the stars - on the hard, cold, gritty roof with the sweat slowly cooling off them - for a long time. Eventually Bakura said, "You really are beautiful, you know."

Ryou nodded sleepily. "I know. You mentioned." Bakura chuckled.

"We should go in now, I guess..."

Ryou cracked one eye open. "I can't get up."

"Why not?"

"You're laying on me..."

"Oh." Bakura hugged him close, and buried his face in his brother's hair again to hide his smile. "Then I guess we'll just have to sleep outside tonight. You're too comfortable."

As Ryou glowered good-naturedly and tried whacking him, yelling, and pulling on his hair in a futile attempt to get Bakura off, the screen fades to black.

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**A/N: **Say it with me now: aw-w-w-w-w! Hmm... Bakura was a bit forceful, I thought. But I guess that suits his personality fairly well, don't you think? . Wow, I can't believe it... It's finally done... (goes into shock) (brightens suddenly) My twenty-sixth finished story! That rox! I should throw a party! Now I can concentrate on one of those seven or so other stories I've got going at the moment, I guess... ... Review o-ne-gai-i-i-i-i-i-i?


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